If You Die In A Dream
by Ahria
Summary: Sequel to A Bored Lsama All 3 trad couples. The girls are waking up with mysterious wounds and everynight, it gets worse. What will the guys do to save what they love? Final chapter up! COMPLETE
1. Chapter One: Deciet

To all my old readers (I love you!!!), welcome back! Here is your sequel, as promised. Sorry it took so long. I kinda went on vacation with my family and had no access to a computer for a week and a half. I went all over the east coast!! I live in Iowa.. WE DROVE!!! 20 STRAIGHT HOURS IN A CAR WITH MY FAMILY!!!!! AHHH!!  
  
*smiles like a crazy person* It was great. Really.  
  
To anyone new (you're awesome and should R&R), this is a sequel to "A Bored L-sama". If you haven't read that, this one won't make a lot of sense.. I suggest you read the other one first. Everyone seems to love it, so I figure it's pretty good. ^^;;  
  
To everyone, ENJOY AND REVIEW!!  
  
IF YOU DIED IN A DREAM: CHAPTER ONE: DECIET  
  
A slight whimper escaped her lips as she curled into a tight ball.  
"Lina," he whispered, stroking her fire-colored hair. "Lina, wake up."  
  
Her small form was shaking so hard he feared she might hurt herself. Not knowing what else to do, he gathered her up in his arms and rocked her back and forth, all the while begging her to wake. After what seemed forever, the sorceress's ruby eyes flew open, tears barely held at bay. Relief flooded his senses and he wrapped her in a gentle hug.  
  
"What's wrong?" she murmured, feigning confusion. Pulling away, he gave her a startled look.  
  
"You screamed, Lina. It woke me up. Then you-"  
  
"It was just a nightmare." She cut him off and tried to slide out of his arms. He held fast and forced her eyes back to his.  
  
"This is the third time this week." He said softly, distress heavy in his tone.  
  
"I'm sorry," she replied quietly, shutting him out again.  
  
"Don't do this, Lina, please." He whispered as she pulled away. Seeing the heartbreak in his eyes, she leaned over and gave him a gentle kiss.  
  
"It's nothing," she promised, taking his hand. "I'm fine."  
  
He only nodded but somewhere deep down she knew he didn't believe her. She moved her arms so he wouldn't see the rope burns as they lay down. Gently, her wrapped his arms around her waist and held her close.  
  
"Hey, Lina?"  
  
"Hmm..."  
  
"If it was something really bad, you'd tell me, right? You trust me enough to tell me, don't you?"  
  
There was a moment of silence before she answered.  
  
"Of course, Gourry." She lied with a smile that did not reach her eyes. He sighed as he ran his hand down her cheek.  
  
"I love you, Lina." He whispered.  
  
Snuggling closer to his chest and burying her face in his shoulder so he couldn't see the tears, she responded, "I love you too."  
  
Eventually, his breathing slowed and evened out, telling her that he was asleep. At times like this, she didn't mind the inevitability of sleep. She could enjoy the feel of her protector's arms around her. Dawn came much too soon and she crept away, careful not to wake him.  
  
***************************  
  
Tears coursed down her pale cheeks, shining like diamonds in the pale moonlight. The blankets had been tossed aside, enhancing her feeling of vulnerability. She felt dampness beneath her and knew it was her blood seeping into the sheets.  
  
"Filia?"  
  
She let out a startled yelp and sat upright without meaning to.  
  
"I wasn't expecting you home until the end of the week." She said quickly, turning away.  
  
"What's wrong?" he demanded, totally disregarding her statement.  
  
"Noth-"  
  
"Don't you dare, Filia. I can feel your pain.. your fear." He interrupted, sitting down next to her. "I should thrive on such a thing, but I.." he paused to pull her close. "I can't stand it now."  
  
She leaned into his embrace, drawing strength from his presence and forgetting the pain.  
  
"It's been long few days, that's all. Why are you home so early?" she asked quietly, trying to make him forget her emotional state.  
  
"Lord Beastmaster's task didn't take as long as I'd assumed. Tell me what's wrong." He said as his hands began to trail slowly down her back.  
  
"I already-"  
  
"Has Val been behaving?"  
  
"He's been very good. Xellos, I'm really fi-"  
  
Her words were cut off as he pulled abruptly away.  
  
"You're bleeding!" he exclaimed, turning her around. Carefully, he pulled down the nightgown to expose her back, and inspected the wound thoroughly.  
  
"Can you heal it?"  
  
The golden dragon could think of nothing to say, so she nodded mutely and began a spell. When she was done, he took her face in his hands and pulled it close to his. The scent of honey and wine caressed her skin.  
  
"What's going on, Filia?" he asked, his tone dangerously soft. She tried to look away but he would not allow it. "There was a whip-lash across your back along with the scar of another, and you're going to tell me why." He stated slowly, tone informing that she had no choice.  
  
"I dreamt it." She whispered.  
  
"The events in your dream took on physical manifestation?" he demanded. She nodded. "How long?"  
  
"They started the night you left." She answered quietly and did not miss the guilt that crept into his amethyst eyes.  
  
"Do you remember what happens?" he asked, unconsciously pulling her closer.  
  
"I.. parts of it," she replied. "Ms. Lina and Ms. Amelia are always there too. We're tied up and-" she stopped abruptly and shook her head.  
  
"Can you ever see who-" he began.  
  
"No." she cut him off and lowered her eyes.  
  
"Filia-"  
  
"I never see who it is." She lied, and then continued, "I'm really tired."  
  
Slowly, he brought her eyes back to his.  
  
"I'll be here when you wake." He told her softly. With a gentle smile, she allowed him to take her in his arms and lay down.  
  
*************************  
  
A feminine scream echoed through the palace halls.  
  
"Princess?" the frantic maid exclaimed as she entered the bedchamber. Amelia lay, curled in a ball, sobbing. "I'll go and get your father, Princess."  
  
"Don't." Amelia ordered through her tears with all the ferocity she could force into the word. "Tell NO ONE of this."  
  
The maid, knowing her place, bowed silently and left the room. The princess spent the next few moments regaining her composure.  
  
As soon as the tears had stopped, she checked for wounds and found only the rope burns around her wrists. It took little effort to heal the marks and once she'd done so, Amelia pulled herself out of bed. Dawn was still a few hours away, but sleep had lost its appeal.  
  
After dragging the quilt from her bed, she opened the balcony doors. The full moon illuminated the land below, giving it a look of enchantment. The cool air stole her breath away as she gazed upon what would one day be hers.  
  
*It will only be a few more months,* she mused silently as she pulled the blanket around her body. *And then he'll home. I hope these horrible dreams will stop by then.*  
  
What would he say if he saw the new scar on her back? She could lie and say it was from some random dark lord they'd fought. *But lying is unjust!* her mind snapped, falling out of maturity mode. Besides, one could easily tell an old scar from a new one.  
  
She wondered idly what Ms. Lina would say. She figured the sorceress was going through the same thing; the scene of the night before flashing vividly in her mind's eye. The look on Lina's face as the whip had connected with her skin had been much too real to be anything but.  
  
And tonight, Ms. Filia... Yes, they were all in this together. They had to be. She made a mental note to write a letter to both of them, requesting their immediate return to Seyrune.  
  
After that, the princess tried very hard to ignore the problem and think of her wedding, but it would not go away. *What if we can't figure this out? What if Mr. Zelgaddis finds out..?* her mind demanded. *What if things get worse and we get more then beaten? What if- No* she ended the thought right there, because it was too ridiculous to contemplate. It was impossible, wasn't it?  
  
Yes, waking up with wounds was beyond strange, but.. You couldn't really die in dream.... could you?  
  
END OF CHAPTER ONE  
  
What'd ya all think?? I need feedback!! I'm not worried about it though, because you all are so wonderful!!  
  
Thanks!  
  
-Ahria 


	2. Chapter Two: Request

Look! I really DO exist!! I'm glad people liked the first chapter.. and that people reviewed!!  
  
Anyone interested in a SLAYERS FANFIC CONTEST should go to for details. I'm a judge on the panel, and we need people to submit stuff, so.. GO AND CHECK IT OUT!! This site is so great!! It's a trad couple fanfiction site and hosts some of my work, along with lots of other great writers. So even if you're not interested in the contest (even though you should be) go check out the site anyway. Do it because you love me, if nothing else. ^__^  
  
CHAPTER TWO:  
  
Sunlight returned to the world, each ray trying to outshine the other. The chimera, after walking all night, finally stopped to rest on the edge of a cliff. He sat over-looking the desert and wishing for nothing but his cure. Methodically, he reached for his canteen and unscrewed the lid. Only after quenching his thirst did he notice the dangling bracelet.  
  
Soon all thoughts of a cure vanished. It had been seven months since the last time he'd seen the woman he loved. Love. It was still a foreign concept in his mind. *Nonsense. I told her the truth and she loved me back.*  
  
In all his dreams and buried hopes, he'd never once imagined that a beautiful princess would choose him over everyone else. The last thing she'd said to him still rang clearly in his mind.  
  
****Flashback****  
  
"I want you to know," she said as she cupped his face in her tiny hands. "That I don't care if come back cured or not. Chimera or human, you'll still be Zelgadis. You'll still be the man I fell in love with."  
  
***End flashback***  
  
*Well she might not care, but I do.* he thought with forced anger to cover the guilt of leaving her behind. He stood abruptly and shoved the canteen back into its place in the bag.  
  
Searching the horizon once more, he noticed the twinkling of sun-on- silver far in the distance. Forgetting all troubles other then the one at hand, he started towards the point of intrigue.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
"Where were you?" the swordsmen asked with a yawn.  
  
"I went to order our breakfast." She replied and started to pull his covers away. Instead of letting her, he grabbed her arms and pulled her back into bed. His hands wrapped around where there had once been burns and the sorceress was grateful they hadn't scarred.  
  
"What's your hurry?" he asked, tugging the blankets back around them.  
  
"I think we should go back to Seirune." She told him.  
  
"So early? It'll be five months before-"  
  
"I just miss Amelia. Besides, I'm sure she's lonely without Zel. I know I'd.." she trailed off and blushed. A smile lit his face and he pressed a kiss to her forehead.  
  
"I couldn't bare it if you were gone a year either." He whispered. Even after seven months, there were moments when she'd falter and prove that she was still afraid. It made him wish that Lina could see, for just one moment, what he saw when he looked at her. He wished she could see that she was everything. Once in a while, she'd say she knew how much she loved him. Secretly, he doubted that.  
  
"We'll go, if that's what you want." He said a few minuets later.  
  
"Thank you." Came her hushed reply. Something in her voice conveyed her hidden fear and instinctively, he pulled her closer.  
  
"Tell me what you dreamt." He said suddenly and felt her stiffen immediately.  
  
"Just of Hellmaster." She answered carefully. Sensing the lie, he rolled away and stood with his back turned.  
  
"We should get going." He told her. She sat up but did not move off the bed.  
  
"Gourry." She called, trying to keep the desperation out of her voice. He turned to see her ruby eyes full of unshed tears and ignored the urge to go to her.  
  
"Yes?" he asked, meeting her eyes. She opened to mouth as if to say something, then immediately shut it. The silence that followed seemed to stretch forever.  
  
"I'm sorry." She said as one tear escaped her careful self-control. It dawned on him then that in all the years he'd known her, he'd never seen her look so young. She sat upon her knees, tiny fists slightly curled and resting on her lap. Her gaze had left his face and was now fixated on the ground at his feet.  
  
"For what?" he finally said. She looked up, startled.  
  
"For waking you last night." She replied, finally getting off the bed and avoiding his eyes again.  
  
"Lina-"  
  
A knock on the door cut off the rest of his words.  
  
"That must be our food!" she exclaimed, rushing to the door. Sure enough, a platoon of servers holding triple portions of everything on the menu stood just outside.  
  
After their meal, Lina seemed to be completely back to normal. Deciding ruining her mood wasn't worth it, he smiled when he was supposed to and said what was expected. She didn't seem to notice his feigned cheer. All the while, he tried to come up with a plan to figure out what it was she dreamed. Somehow he knew that was the source of their problem.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
"Anymore dreams?" Xellos asked as he brushed a few stray hairs out of her eyes. Filia smiled up at him with such radiance that everything but her was momentarily forgotten.  
"No." she said with obvious relief.  
  
"I'll get to the bottom of this, I promise you." He told her softly and rested his forehead against the top of her head.  
  
"I know you'll try." She whispered back. Before he could say anything more, the sound of a babies' cry sounded from the next room.  
  
"I'll get him," she said and all but jumped out of bed. He watched her go, trying to ignore the strange sense of defeat that surrounded him.  
  
And so another normal day passed. In fact, two weeks of normal days passed. No nightmares plagued anyone and certain lies were almost forgotten. Everything was so typical that Lina slowed their journey from "ASAP" to "when ever we get there". After an easy day of traveling, the couple stopped in a small town that was well known for its restaurants.  
  
"Wake up, Gourry! I wanna be the first person there so we get all the good stuff!" Lina exclaimed, shaking her husband-to-be by the shoulders. He mumbled incoherently and rolled away from her. Just as she was about to fireball the sleeping man, a timid knock sounded at the door.  
  
"What do you want?" she demanded, unhappy with yet another thing keeping her away from food.  
  
"I have a message from the princess of Seirune, she-"  
  
Before the fearful young man could finish his sentence, the sorceress had the door open and the letter in her hand. She thanked him in an absent- minded way and shut the door. Gourry opened his eyes just as she plopped down onto the bed but simply watched her instead of saying anything.  
  
Lina carefully opened the letter and read it slowly, turning paler with each word. When she looked up he caught the fear in her eyes.  
  
"Gourry," she said a second later and shook his leg without looking over at him. "We have to go."  
  
"What does the letter say? Is Amelia alright?" he asked, getting up at once.  
  
"She's fine," Lina answered with a forced smile. "Just lonely. We should get going right after breakfast."  
  
He stood and started to dress, then without warning he grabbed the letter from her hand.  
  
"Dear Ms. Lina and Mr. Gourry," it read. "I know you weren't planning on returning for another five months, but I was hopping to persuade you into returning early. I haven't been sleeping well and hopped company would ease my state of mind. I've sent for Ms. Filia as well. Please come back soon. Thank you.  
  
-Amelia"  
  
"This doesn't sound like anything to get panicked about." He commented, handing the letter back.  
  
"I'm not panicked." She snapped. "I just want to leave now."  
  
He took a deep breath and sighed.  
  
"What ever you say, Lina."  
  
*************************************************  
  
"I got a letter from Ms. Amelia," said the golden dragon absently as she tried to feed the squirming infant.  
  
"Is there anything wrong?" asked Xellos, tensing.  
  
"She's lonely, is all. She's asked both Lina and I to come back." She said quickly. Gently, he took one of her hands in his own. The act caused her to look up and become caught in his amethyst eyes.  
  
"Is this about the dreams?"  
  
She sighed softly and closed her eyes.  
  
"I hope not." 


	3. Chapter Three: Arrival

I'm sorry this has taken SO long!!!! . My dear friend, The Great ABC, called me from Texas to threaten my life and "help" me get over my bad case of writer's block. So everyone thank her for talking to me for an hour and a half, long distance, to get this chapter out. I love you Alicia- bunny(ABC'S other name)!!!  
  
CHAPTER THREE:  
  
It took three weeks at a frantic pace to reach Seyruun. Gourry, by this point, was well past the worrying state. Lina rarely spoke to him and whenever she caught him looking at her, she'd hide her face as though ashamed. In the four years he'd known Lina Inverse, she had never once hidden her face.  
  
They arrived in the large city around twilight. The sun was shrouded in a blood-colored light as it left the world, the sky appearing to have lost a battle. As the carnage above rose to its peak, the swordsmen suddenly found himself very anxious to have his sorceress inside the protective walls of the castle.  
  
One of the guards must have seen them for Amelia stood waiting at the drawbridge. The princess did not shout with delight and fling herself at his companion as she always had before but instead wrapped her in a gentle hug as though afraid of hurting her.  
  
"I'm glad you made it back." She said softly.  
  
"I hurried." Lina replied. "Is Filia here yet?"  
  
"She arrived just yesterday. Right now, she's putting Val down to bed." said Amelia as she studied her friend. "Why don't I show you to your room so you can rest up before dinner." The princess said in a way that made it more of a command then a suggestion. The sorceress sent her an unhappy glare, but allowed herself to be led away, leaving Gourry nothing to do but follow after them in a state of utter bemusement.  
  
****  
The wind was picking up again and the chimera cursed under his breath. Frequent sand storms had already caused what should have a weeklong journey in a three week long fight for survival. He'd been forced to spend four days inside the side of a cliff. Carving out this indentation had taken a considerable amount of time, and when he had finally reached safety, sand clung to every poor. Several other things along these lines occurred in those few weeks and he was not about to be detoured once again.  
  
The unmistakable shape of a temple could be seen in the distance. Its twinkling silver light seemed to beckon the man and he allowed himself a half smile. It would only be a two more days now. If he didn't make there within five days, his cure would be lost. There would be no more hope.  
  
Weeks of research had prompted his venture to the seemingly endless desert. It was said the temple of Nadie appeared once every thousand years and stayed for only one month. Legend had it that if a person pure of heart made a wish, it would come true. He doubted he could convince anyone he had a pure heart, but it was the only option left. With determination even stronger, the chimera marched through the strengthening winds.  
  
********  
  
After a quiet and uneventful dinner, the three young women gathered in the princess's bedchamber. Lina sat in a chair near the balcony and kept her gaze locked on the night sky. The ex-priestess sat on a high-backed wooden bench, opposite the sorceress and seemed to be very interested in one of the tapestries on the wall. Amelia was sitting cross-legged on the foot of her bed, staring at the floor.  
  
"We're all in this together, aren't we.." Lina mused softly, without looking away from the sky. Her words caused the other two meaningful glances in her direction.  
  
"I'm sorry. This is all my fault." Filia said, fighting tears that suddenly burned at the back of her throat.  
  
"How-" Amelia started, confused.  
  
"So that's Thrayne, huh?" the sorceress asked and finally looked at her friends. The young mother looked away and nodded. At this admittance, the princess closed her eyes and lowered her head.  
  
"It's not your fault, Filia, we just need to know how he's doing this." Lina said after a moment. "We also need to know why he's targeting all of us and not just you."  
  
"Maybe he doesn't have a reason. Maybe he's just evil. What more reason can he need?" Amelia asked, trying hard not to turn into the whiny child she often became.  
  
"No.." Lina shook her head. "There's something there, in his eyes. Evil, yes, but also.. cold; calculating. He has a plan and real, strategic reason for everything he's done. For everything he's going to do."  
  
"He's not in our world anymore. I don't know where he is, but he's not here. Xellos saw him leave our realm."  
  
"One more piece to the puzzle." The sorceress sighed and resumed studying the stars. No one said anything for a long while.  
  
"You haven't told Mr. Gourry." Amelia stated and finally broke the silence. Lina slowly turned to look at her and replied, "He can't know."  
  
The threat in her voice was plain enough but beneath it held the pain she'd never express. Lying to the man she loved was definitely taking its toll on the young sorceress but the reasons were easy enough to define.  
  
"Xellos knows about the dreams but nothing more." Filia said a moment later.  
  
"He doesn't know its Thrayne?" the princess asked. The ex-priestess shook her head. She didn't have to say he wasn't allowed to know.  
  
"We should try to get some sleep. Who knows when he'll start again." Lina said abruptly as she stood. She walked across the room but Amelia's whispered question stopped her as her hand came to rest on the handle.  
  
"What are we going to do?"  
  
The sorceress ran a hand through her hair and did not turn around.  
  
"I don't know." She replied in the same weary tone and was gone.  
  
END OF CHAPTER THREE  
  
How was that? I hope everyone loved it 'cause writing it was horrible. At one point my computer decided it hated me and stuff, so I had to restart it and lost all the stuff about Zel!!! SO after half an hour of fighting with the stupid machine and getting so mad I CRIED, I called a friend of mine and told her of the problem. Over the phone, she fixed it within five minuets. *sigh* Anyway, I finally got finished. It's 1:00 am and I'm very sleepy, but I love you all and here is your chapter.  
  
-Ahria 


	4. Chapter Four: You and you alone

Now that I've gotten over the dreaded writer's block, I can't seem to stop writing! I even got in trouble at school!! That actually happens a lot, especially since I basically stopped going to choir.. the director really hates me and I don't like him much either.  
  
ANNOUNCEMENT!!! In the beginning of chap two, I was talking about the SLAYERS FANFIC CONTEST but it didn't show the site when I uploaded it onto ff.net. SO SEE MY BIO FOR INFORMATION/WEB ADDRESS!!! Please?? We really need entries and I'd love you forever if you at least checked it out.  
  
CHAPTER FOUR:  
  
"Have you been sleeping better?" Gourry asked as she climbed under the blankets next to him.  
  
"Much better, now that we're here. Why?" she asked with a worried smile.  
  
"I haven't heard you crying in your sleep or woken up to you screaming, so I figured the nightmares were going away." He reasoned, giving her a questioning look. He didn't miss the falter in her smile or the guilt in her eyes. Before he could say anything more, she snuggled close and rested her head just below his chin.  
  
Her warmth clouded his mind and his questions were dismissed.  
  
"I love you, Lina." He whispered and drew her in closer.  
  
She raised her lips to his and let his love wash away her fears. Eventually his mouth left hers and found her throat, causing her breath to hitch. She leaned back, an unvoiced offer made.  
  
The gesture of surrender touched his heart so deeply he felt her love in his very soul. The knowledge that she would have let him take everything had him backing away. He remembered, very clearly, her request to wait until after marriage.  
  
"I love you so much." She murmured as she kissed him one more time. He didn't notice the faint glow of her hand as it skimmed across his cheek. "Sleep well, Gourry." An instant later he was sound asleep; the spell had done its job. It was just a precaution, as the dreams hadn't occurred in over a week. No more chances, she reminded herself as remorse set in, he can't know. With a sigh, she snuggled close to her protector and fell asleep, listening to the sound of his beating heart.  
  
**********  
  
Three days had passed since the last storm. Zelgadis had barely stopped once, day or night, to make up for lost time. He could see the temple almost clearly now. Even though he knew it was a desert mirage, part of him thought he could just reach out and touch its gleaming surface. No, he thought, shaking himself. Only a few more hours though. His cure was almost in hand and nothing from stop him this time. Nothing.  
  
***********  
  
She sat up in a blind panic, screaming out her friend's name before she realized she was awake.  
  
"Oh gods, Amelia." She muttered frantically, ignoring the gashes on her face. She didn't have to look to see that her spell was still working; Gourry was still sound asleep. Lina jumped off the bed, threw open the door and literally flew down the hall, beating Filia to the princess's room by mere seconds. Xellos was with her but seemed more concerned about the wrist that continued to bleed. She didn't appear to notice his presence or her own injury.  
  
Together they opened the door, neither hearing the metal handle slam against the stone wall. Amelia lay, unmoving, in her bed, blankets tossed everywhere. One pale arm hung off the bed, streams of blood flowing together to drip off her fingers and onto the floor.  
  
The girls rushed to the princess's side.  
  
"Her pulse is weak, but it's there." Lina said, pushing the emotion out of her voice. Filia nodded and went to work healing the major wound first while the sorceress began on the minor ones.  
  
"What happened?" Gourry demanded from the doorway a few moments later. When neither girl acknowledged his existence, Xellos quietly pulled him from the room.  
  
"From the looks of it, she's been impaled just above the heart."  
  
"How?" Gourry demanded again.  
  
"I don't know. They won't tell me either." He lied and actually felt remorse for it. The monster knew Gourry, above anyone else, deserved the truth, but Filia had begged his silence just a few days before. The swordsmen said nothing as he stormed down the hall. He grabbed a piece of parchment from the desk in his room and scribbled something down as quickly as he could. As soon the ink was dry, he folded it and returned to the baffled monster.  
  
"This needs to find Zel. Now. I know you can find him." Gourry said as he shoved the letter in Xellos's hand.  
  
"He'll except nothing from me."  
  
"Find a way."  
  
The monster regarded him for a long moment before disappearing, parchment in hand.  
  
Gourry watched from a safe distance as they saved the life of the young princess. It was times like these that he wished he'd learned magic. In these situations, he always felt useless. This thought brought him back to his earlier questions. What exactly was the situation?  
  
After a very long time, the girls pulled away. They checked her pulse again and nodded in weary satisfaction. Gourry waited until they'd healed themselves before storming over to the woman he loved.  
  
"What happened? Why didn't you wake me if there was an attack?" he demanded, pulling the sorceress to her feet as gently but firmly as possible.  
  
"It all happened too fast. Right after whoever it was got to Amelia, we fought him off. I was with Filia, getting a midnight snack when we heard the sounds of a fight." Lina improved the best she could.  
  
"There's something else going on here, and you-" his words were cut off as Lina began to tiredly push him from the room.  
  
"We have to get her cleaned up and I doubt she'd appreciate you watching."  
  
"Lina-"  
  
"Later. We'll talk later." She promised softly. "Please?"  
  
He sighed angrily and looked away.  
  
"I'll be in the garden." He told her, irritation heavy in his tone. She nodded and shut the door in his face without another word. He glared at the door as though it had closed itself and finally stormed away.  
  
In the room, Lina sank to the floor. Early dawn light poured through the window.  
  
"I don't know what I'm going to say to him." She said as she looked to Filia. The golden dragon only shook her head. Lina sighed. "I'll go get everything, you stay with her."  
  
********** The sun was bright, even this early in the morning. The monster watched the chimera's progress across the sand. One more hour, he thought.  
  
"Your kind is not to be here. It is forbidden." A light voice warned, just above a whisper.  
  
"I come to deliver a message, nothing more." He answered carefully, turning to face what appeared to be a child. Her hair was the color of the sand beneath her feet and dropped in waves to her waist. Her skin, a rich olive, made the gold of her eyes shine like nothing he'd ever seen before. The flowing gown of the same color moved silently over the ground as she walked to him.  
  
He felt her quiet presence inside his mind and ignored the reaction to push her out. Part of him wondered if he could have even if he'd wanted to.  
  
"You.. love." She said, surprised by the notion. "We will tolerate your being here."  
  
"Thank you." He answered as he felt her pull away. "The man approaching, this must get to him. Could you see that he reads it as soon as he is here?" he asked, handing her the letter. She looked at it curiously but made no move to open it.  
  
"The woman he loves, she is in danger."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"He searches for a cure. A cure he loves as much as the woman."  
  
"Yes."  
  
She cocked her head to one side and offered the monster a perplexed expression.  
  
"So which will he choose?"  
  
The question startled him for a reason he couldn't identify.  
  
"I don't know." He replied honestly. She nodded as though she had expected the answer.  
  
"We will see this is received. Your time is up."  
  
He bowed low and was gone. The guardian of the temple looked away from where he had been and watched the approaching chimera.  
  
**********  
  
"How are you feeling?" Filia asked, ringing out the washcloth.  
  
"Tired." Amelia answered with a sigh. "I always get so close, but every time, someone brings me back."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Lina asked, running a dry cloth over the princess's moist skin.  
  
"Dying. I've been so close, but I always get saved. I wonder what it's like."  
  
"It's like being born," the sorceress answered. "Only backwards."  
  
"You're not sad," Filia continued. "Because you know that every thing you love is fine. You just know, without a doubt, that they're safe, so it's ok. It's ok that you're gone."  
  
"Nothing hurts there. There's nothing to be afraid of. It's just.. perfect." Lina said.  
  
"And then when you come back..." Filia trailed off, at a loss for words.  
  
"Everything is loud and bright and hard." The sorceress supplied.  
  
"It's terrible." The dragon agreed. "But then you see what you left behind and you can't decide which is better. Being here, with the one you love or being there, knowing the one you love is safe."  
  
"And then, after a while, you start to embrace life again and you remember all the things you forgot you were giving up. You realize you can still feel perfect, just once in a while when he looks at and you know. You know that he loves you more then any heaven ever could." Lina finished, pulling the covers over Amelia's freshly cleaned body.  
  
"I don't know if that's terrible or wonderful." The princess said sleepily.  
  
"It's both." Filia replied, taking the young girl's hand. "Rest now, we'll be here." With a nod, Amelia dropped into a dreamless sleep.  
  
**********  
  
Finally. After all the years of searching, after all the pain. Here it was. His cure.  
  
The young girl with golden eyes stood at the doorway, no emotion on her face.  
  
"You come for your cure." She spoke softly a voice that did not match the age of her appearance.  
  
"How do you know that?" he demanded suspiciously.  
  
"I see into your soul. I know everything you are. I know everything you want."  
  
"Is it here?" he asked impatiently.  
  
"Read this first. It was delivered here for you." She told him, holding out the letter. He strode foreword and delicately took the paper from her hand. It would not be good to be rude to this... Thing, he decided.  
  
"Come home. Now. She needs you.  
-Gourry" was sprawled across the page in what he recognized as his friend's script.  
  
"Where did you get this?" he growled, almost screaming.  
  
"A messenger."  
  
"What's going on? What's wrong with Amelia?" he demanded.  
  
"That is unknown to me. I can only see what lies in one's mind and soul when they are here at my temple. The one who delivered this carried this in mind." She whispered, sending the image of his princess lying on her bed straight into his mind.  
  
"Oh gods, is she.." he couldn't bring himself to say it.  
  
"The last he knew, she was alive. There were others there. Ones with great magic. The messenger believed she would be saved."  
  
"She was dying.. I could feel it..." He murmured. "I have to get to her. Please, my cure and then-"  
  
"I fear it is not that easy. To lift the curse you carry, your presence here is required." She interrupted.  
  
"How long?" he asked, panic growing by the minute.  
  
"One of your years for each part we must remove, then another to put your soul together again." She answered emotionlessly.  
  
"That'd take three years! I don't have that long!" he yelled, too many emotions clouding his mind.  
  
"It can not be helped. Your heart is pure and your wish is known. Whether or not you take what is offered, is up to you and you alone. We need your answer."  
  
END OF CHAPTER FOUR  
  
There, that was nice and long. Thanks for all the wonderful reviews!! They made me happy!!! Don't forget to check out that CONTEST!!  
  
-Ahria 


	5. Chapter Five: Discover the truth

Hello again!! I'm eating left over pumpkin pie. Mmmm.. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. Thanks for all those reviews, you guys. I love you!!  
  
Oh, you know what?! I got caught skipping choir.. ^^;; yeah, I'm dork. *sigh*  
  
Remember to check out the SLAYERS FANFIC CONTEST!!! See my bio for details..  
  
CHAPTER FIVE:  
  
"I can't just stay here for three years without letting Amelia know-"  
  
"You know that is impossible. Once you leave, returning is not an option."  
  
"This isn't fair!" he exclaimed. "You can't expect me to abandon her even for-"  
  
"It seems as though you've already made your choice." The aberration declared gently. The chimera stood silent for a moment, the weight of her words crowding his mind.  
  
"It seems I have." He replied and turned away.  
  
"You think you leave with nothing." She stated, tone almost disappointed. With his back still to her, the chimera let out a scornful chuckle.  
  
"Why shouldn't I think that? If you're so all knowing, than tell me what I leave with." He snapped angrily.  
  
"You leave with the answer you've sought for the last seven months."  
  
"And what was the question?" he demanded.  
  
"What you love more, your princess or your cure. Now you know and that is something you will always have."  
  
Without another word, Zelgaddis walked away, never once looking back.  
  
***********************************************  
  
"We need to figure this out. I'm sick of this already." Lina said quietly, rubbing her temples. A headache had started at the base of her neck and had now crept to just behind her ruby-colored eyes.  
  
"I don't know why he's targeting you. It's me he hates, it's me he-"  
  
"But you weren't the first." She cut her off and continued when Filia tried to protest. "In the dreams, I mean. He came to me first. The first time I saw him, you two weren't there."  
  
"You should have told me. I'm not Gourry." Filia snapped, then automatically regretted it. Anger filled the sorceress's eyes.  
  
"You never asked." Lina growled back and got to her feet. "It didn't seem important."  
  
"Of course it's important!" Filia hissed back, trying not to wake the sleeping princess. "What did he say?"  
  
By this time, the sorceress was already to the door. She stopped with her small hand resting on the knob.  
  
"He said this was one encounter I wasn't going to live through. When I pointed out that I'd died twice, he hit me. It broke my jaw." She paused to trace her jaw line with the hand that had been dangling at her side. "He continued to inform me that I was obsolete and he had been ordered to eradicate my existence."  
  
"Lina-"  
  
"I'll be back to check on Amelia later."  
  
With that said, she turned the knob and walked out the door.  
  
**************************************  
  
"Is it better or worse to know?" Xellos asked quietly from mid-air. The chimera's head snapped around to face the monster.  
  
"What are you doing here?" he growled, hand already on the hilt of his sword.  
  
"You're two months, minimum, from Seyrunn. I came to-"  
  
"You were the messenger, weren't you?" Zelgaddis demanded, expecting the monster to deny the allegation.  
  
"Of course. Who else could have gotten it all the way out here?" he questioned response, setting himself on the ground.  
  
"I'll kill you!" the chimera screamed, rushing foreword to grab Xellos's throat. The general-priest held very still.  
  
"Why?" was all he said.  
  
"You planned all of this! You know I can't go back once I've left, no matter the reason. Somehow you planted false memories for that thing to see and-"  
  
"You have missed much while you've been gone." Xellos interrupted and pried the chimera's fingers away as if they were nothing. "I'm not lying and nothing you saw was false. Amelia-"  
  
"She had better be ok or I'll-" Zel began.  
  
"You act as though I was the one who tried to kill her yet you know *nothing*!" The monster snapped, irritation finally beginning to show. "Filia has almost died as well at the hands of whoever is doing this to them and there is nothing I can do to stop it!"  
  
The chimera stood dumbstruck for a long moment. It wasn't the words so much as the emotion behind that had him reeling.  
  
"Are they alright?" he finally asked quietly.  
  
"Lina and Filia were healing her when Gourry sent me to you." Xellos offered.  
  
"She has to be ok." The chimera muttered more to himself then to Xellos. Deciding panicking wasn't the best course of action, he decided to try to be logical. "Was anyone else hurt?"  
  
"Both the other girls. Filia's screamed and woke me. Her wrist was bleeding but she didn't take the time to heal it. Instead-"  
  
"Why were you with Filia?" Zel interrupted.  
  
"We're getting married soon." Xellos shrugged. Zel gapped.  
  
"I have missed a lot." He sighed. "And Lina?"  
  
"Some scratches but I didn't see anything major."  
  
"So what's going on?"  
  
Xellos sighed and ran an ungloved hand threw his hair.  
  
"I might as well tell both of you at the same time." He answered, and reached out to grab Zel's arm.  
  
"Both of us?"  
  
"Gourry doesn't actually know either. He just knows it's something."  
  
Zel still grimaced as the monster grabbed his arm but did not pull away. With sigh, they disappeared.  
  
*******************************  
  
Lina wandered aimlessly through the corridors, no destination in mind. Her head seemed to pulse with pain, causing black spots to blur her vision. She refused to stop because that would mean sleep and that would mean worse pain. The sorceress stopped at the nearest window, one that just happened to over-look the garden.  
  
As she leaned her forehead against the glass, Xellos and Zelgaddis appeared just before Gourry.  
  
"At least Zel will be here for Amelia." She muttered to herself. Just as she about to push into a standing position, a sudden realization invaded the pain.  
  
"Xellos knows and he's going to tell Gourry. Oh, L-sama."  
  
With clenched fists, the tiny sorceress went to find the nearest stairwell.  
  
***********************  
  
The two men appeared in the garden, just a few feet from the blonde swordsmen.  
  
"Took you long enough." Gourry muttered crossly.  
  
"I told you he'd put up a fight." Xellos retorted.  
  
"Is Amelia-"  
  
"She's fine." His friend assured quickly. Grateful, the chimera took a seat on one of the numerous stone benches.  
  
"Alright, now I want an explanation." A very relieved Zel said.  
  
"Xellos doesn't-"  
  
"Yes, I do." He interrupted.  
  
"So this morning when I asked you looked me in the eye and lied. Amelia was dying and you lied." Gourry demanded, outraged. The pang of guilt the monster had once known rapidly transformed into a dagger.  
  
"Filia made me promise not to. You know I can deny her nothing." The general-priest said quietly and looked away. Gourry sighed, his anger and frustration nearly tangible.  
  
"I understand." He finally replied with dropping shoulders.  
  
"Why would Filia not want him to know?" Zel asked.  
  
"It wasn't really Filia. It was Lina. She didn't want me to know." Gourry responded, an unusual perceptiveness in his eyes.  
  
"Damn it, Xellos." The sorceress muttered from behind the group. As they turned, all three expected to see anger but all there was was sorrow. "Why'd you tell him?"  
  
"I can't believe you lied to me." Gourry said as he stood.  
  
"Gourry, please listen!" she pleaded, catching his arm as he brushed past her and the world spun. The pain was so much worse now. He pulled away and spun to face her.  
  
"You lied! All I've ever wanted of you, Lina, was to tell me the truth and.. I can't do this right now." He stopped himself and began to walk away.  
  
"Gourry, I'm sorry." Lina whispered as she fell to the earth.  
  
END OF CHAPTER FIVE  
  
Be good kids and REVIEW!! 


	6. Chapter Six: Fallen Angels

Hello everyone!! I got writers block again... But luckily I'm over it. The Great ABC, Pogo, and many other people have threatened my life as of late, so I thought it best to get this chapter out.  
  
JOIN THE SLAYERS FANFIC CONTEST!! DO IT!!! OR I'LL STOP WRITING THIS STORY!!! (See my bio for contest info).  
  
Have a nice day, all!  
  
CHAPTER SIX: FALLEN ANGELS  
  
"Lina!" he shouted her name and for those few seconds forgot everything but his love. He rushed to her side and gathered her unconscious for in his arms.  
  
"Is she-" Zel started.  
  
"She's fine," Gourry cut him off. "She's going to be fine."  
  
With a heartbroken expression, the swordsman walked away, sorceress held tightly against his chest.  
  
"I barely even recognized her," Zelgaddis muttered. "She doesn't seem like the same person anymore."  
  
"These dreams have changed them all." Xellos replied.  
  
The chimera contemplated this for a long moment before responding, "I need to see Amelia." Xellos nodded, understanding upon his face. He gestured with an un-gloved hand to follow him into the castle. Without a word, Zel trailed behind the monster.  
  
Finally, they stopped in front of Amelia's door, Xellos's hand resting on the knob.  
  
"This last one was very close." He warned.  
  
"I'm prepared."  
  
With a sigh, the monster pushed open the heavy oak door. Amelia lay still as death, overcome by exhaustion. Filia sat close to her side, monitoring the princess's breathing. Zel's breath caught as he studied both girls and thought of the sorceress he'd just seen. The vision struck him of that of fallen angels; all broken and hurting.  
  
All three's skin was far too pale and bruises lined their eyes. Lina and Amelia both seemed so much smaller than he remembered and Filia's once radiant golden hair was now only a dull yellow.  
  
When he returned to reality, he noticed the ex-priestess's astonished gaze upon him. Embarrassed, he looked away.  
  
"Thank you for saving her." He mumbled, not knowing what else to say.  
  
"Lina helped too. We were equal in this." She replied.  
  
"I thank her when she wakes."  
  
"What do you mean?" she demanded, on her feet at once. "There's a greater risk if-"  
  
"It'll be ok." Xellos soothed, taking hold of his dragon before she fell over. He picked her up with ease and held her close. With a sigh, he turned to Zel and said, "We'll give you some time, and than we need to figure this out."  
  
Zelgaddis nodded, the oddity of monster and dragon in love leaving him speechless.  
  
"Welcome back, Mr. Zelgaddis." Filia said softly as she was carried from the room. He gave her a gentle smile as Xellos shut the door.  
  
Taking a deep breath, he took a seat at Amelia's side. Careful not to wake her, he ran a gentle hand threw her hair and pressed a kiss to her brow.  
  
***************************************  
  
As soon as he was sure his sorceress was comfortable, Gourry set to pacing. He stopped on the opposite side of the room and studied her. Her skin was so pale it looked like porcelain. The swordsmen was afraid to touch her for fear his rough hands might cause her to shatter. While before her size had never truly bothered him, he now simply feared it. She was so small he thought she might waste away to nothing.  
  
"I didn't loose you to L-sama, Lina. I'm won't to loose you to this."  
  
******************************  
  
"You need rest." Xellos repeated.  
  
"I can't," she insisted. "When we're all asleep at the same time, there's a greater risk of him getting to us."  
  
Unable to argue that, he raised her hands to his lips.  
  
"We're going to figure out who's doing this."  
  
Instead of responding, she pulled his arms around her waist and just let herself be held.  
  
*************************  
  
"Zelgaddis?" a soft voice called. Zel opened his eyes to meet those of his princess.  
  
"Amelia, I-"  
  
"Go away," she moaned. "Just go away."  
  
"What did I-"  
  
"I've dealt with all the others, but this isn't fair. I almost died today. Can't you just leave me alone?"  
  
"I'm sorry I wasn't here before. I'm sorry I abandoned you, but..." He trailed off, totally bewildered. The fear in her eyes was almost enough to send him out of the room.  
  
"This has to be a dream, you can't be here and it's not fair." She cried and covered her face with her hands.  
  
"Amelia, listen to me," he said as realization hit. "Gourry sent Xellos to bring me back. I'm here for you now."  
  
Slowly, her tears came to a halt and she finally looked at him.  
  
"Does this mean both you and Mr. Gourry know?" she asked, dread in her tone.  
  
Zel nodded.  
  
"You shouldn't have kept it from him and you shouldn't have..." He trailed off in mid-sentence.  
  
"And I shouldn't have kept it from you?" she demanded. "Is that what you were going to say?"  
  
"I didn't mean-"  
  
"You don't get it!" she exclaimed. "How could we make you understand something that we don't? How would that have been fair? Ms. Lina didn't tell Mr. Gourry because there is nothing he can do, just like I didn't send Xellos for you for the same reason. Why should the two of you know when all it would cause was unhappiness?"  
  
"Because you could have died!" he shouted. "Because Lina could have died! We deserve to know."  
  
"You and Mr. Gourry have always protected us, but we aren't allowed to protect you when we get the chance."  
  
"This is not the same thing." He snapped.  
  
"It's not as different as you think." She replied softly, losing her anger.  
  
Zel sighed and pulled her into a much-needed hug.  
  
"None of this matters," he decided. "You're ok and that's all that is important."  
  
"You shouldn't have come back."  
  
"You expected me to choose a non-existent cure over you?" he demanded and pulled away to look in her eyes.  
  
"Non-existent?" she echoed sorrowfully. It took him a moment to realize that her sadness had nothing to do with his looks and only his loss.  
  
"There were no leads." He lied without thinking about it. If she knew, she'd only hurt for him. "It looks like I'm stuck like this."  
  
"I love you." The princess said suddenly. Gently, he rested his forehead against hers, his right hand on her thigh and his left found her waist.  
  
"I love you too."  
  
The angel ran her small fingers down his cheek. As their lips met in an innocent kiss, her hand slid to the base of his neck.  
  
"I'm sorry about your cure. I know how much it meant to you." She told him quietly.  
  
"You mean more." He replied. A smile teased her lips until he again covered them with his. This kiss was lost to innocence; this kiss was the greeting of lovers as the one before had been the greeting of friends.  
  
Gentle stone hands pulled her closer as they slid deeper into each other.  
  
"I'm sorry I left you." He murmured and hid his face from her by burying it in her hair. She pulled gently away and forced him to meet her tear-filled eyes.  
  
"Don't blame yourself." She said forcefully. "I couldn't take that. Just know that you're here for me now and that's all that matters. Please don't blame yourself."  
  
"I'll try." He whispered. With a grateful sigh, she closed her eyes. Slowly he began to run his fingers threw her raven colored hair.  
  
"Would you have lied to me, Amelia?" he asked suddenly. The question caught her off guard and she thought about it for a long moment although they both knew the answer.  
  
"Yes," she sobbed finally. "I would have."  
  
Before anger could set in, the chimera remembered his own lie from only minuets before. A lie for peace of mind; a lie for protection.  
  
"I understand." He said softly and wiped away the tears. "I understand."  
  
Grateful, the princess sunk into his embrace.  
  
**************************** Gourry was on his feet again, wandering around the confining room. An hour had passed and still Lina remained asleep. His anger had almost been completely replaced by a horrible mix of worry and fear, neither of which he could fix.  
  
"Please wake up," he whispered to her still form. "Please just wake up."  
  
****************************  
  
"He still loves her," a woman's voice, full of scorn, informed the young man with pale blonde hair. "You said that he wouldn't when he found out her deceit."  
  
The he-dragon turned from the viewing screen.  
  
"Don't worry, Mistress." He replied, the glint of madness in his ice- blue eyes. "Soon he will not and her suffering will be worse than death, as you wished."  
  
"And what of your plans for the other two?" she purred.  
  
"I nearly got the princess today, but they saved her. She will die soon enough. The golden dragon-"  
  
"Must be destroyed as well."  
  
"I assure you, Mistress, after I have had her, she will perish along with the other two."  
  
"Very well," came the reply. With a flick of her hand, the woman turned one viewing screen to three, each containing one of the targeted girls. A smile graced her dark features. "Very well, indeed." She murmured as she watched.  
  
END OF CHAPTER SIX  
  
HA!! That took forever!! REVIEW AND REMEMBER MY THREAT FROM THE BEGINNING!!  
  
-Ahria 


	7. Chapter Seven: With All Your Heart

Hello everyone!! I hope everyone had a nice holiday. Mine was.. special. I got my wisdom teeth out and all. It didn't really hurt. It's just SUPER annoying. That's really the only word for it. The painkillers they gave me had this side affect of making me really dizzy and I couldn't stand up. It made Christmas irritating. I'm mostly better now and I'm off those drugs. I can sit up and everything! I can feel the stitches in my mouth though.... it's just plain strange. They're starting to come out 'cause they're dissolvable. That's also just very very odd.  
  
So anyway! Thank you very much to whoever entered a fanfic in our (I don't who it was. The judges aren't allowed to know) SLAYERS FANFICTION CONTEST. More of you should follow this wonderful person's example and ENTER A FIC!!!  
  
CHAPTER SEVEN: WITH ALL YOUR HEART  
  
Lina opened her eyes to find herself in a small dark room. Heavy metal chains secured her to the thick stone walls, holding her arms painfully above her head. She nearly cried out at the futility of it all. To just escape and be thrust back into captivity. When the moment of self- pity passed, she scanned her surroundings in search of her friends.  
  
"They're not here." The he-dragon's voice chimed in amusement. She kept her face blank and said nothing. "We know you are confused. We know how you think, how you strategize. We know you think you'll win this. You should know that you are wrong."  
  
"You don't know me!" she screamed in frustration. "You don't know anything!"  
  
"We know what makes you want to win this. We know why you want to live."  
  
An image appeared before her. Gourry no longer sat but was pacing again. Long, furious strides that would exhaust any onlooker.  
  
"Leave him alone." She warned, the anger in her voice strong enough to drown out the fear.  
  
"Alone he will be left," replied Thrayne. "If you do what you are told."  
  
The hate in her eyes matched only that of Zelas's general-priest when he saw his woman die. The corrupted dragon smiled from the knowledge.  
  
"I'll do nothing for you." She hissed. The smile faded from his lips as he crept closer.  
  
"You'll do precisely what you're told." He whispered as he grabbed her arms. "Because if you don't," he continued as his hands trailed down to her throat and he leaned even closer. "I'll kill your swordsmen." The last words were said right into her ear as his nails dug into her flesh. Fresh blood welled from the new wounds and Lina could vaguely make out Gourry's form in the background. He noticed the second her breathing changed and was now shaking her small, unconscious form and frantically pleading her for her to wake. Tears clouded her vision as she replied, "What do you want me to do?"  
  
The smile her captor wore as he pulled away to look in her in the eyes was enough to make her cringe.  
  
"Tell him the truth." He said simply. "And that is all."  
  
"There has to be more to it than that!" she protested.  
  
"Tell him how you lied. Tell how used your magic on him so he wouldn't know. Tell him that you never intended to tell him the truth. Oh, and one more thing," he smirked. "Tell the monster who haunts your dreams." He waited a moment to let his order sink. "Still find it so simple?" he asked and let her go.  
  
***************************************** She woke to Gourry's frantic shouts and pleas. She mumbled his name and found herself in his arms.  
  
"I thought you weren't coming back." He whispered. The thin lines on her throat ceased to bleed as they had been mostly superficial, but they had scared him regardless.  
  
"I always come back." She managed and he pulled her closer. They sat like that for a long while and the sorceress forced herself not to cry. Silently she wondered if he'd ever hold her this way again. The truth would come out and he'd hate her. Taking a deep breath and hardening her heart, one thought passed through her mind. If making him hate her would save his life, the sacrifice could be easily made.  
  
"What's going on? I need to know." He asked as she pulled away.  
  
"I've been lying to you." She replied.  
  
"I kind of figured that out already."  
  
"We've been having dreams. Someone's there, hurting us, and when we wake the wounds are there."  
  
"I already knew that too. I want to know everything."  
  
Lina felt the shabby wall she'd built around her heart start to crack.  
  
"I was never going to tell you. I would have lied about it until the day I died. Every morning you asked me if I was all right and I told you yes, I was lying. Every time you heard me wake up screaming, I lied about that too." She recited her sins emotionlessly, pretending she were someone else.  
  
"But that stopped a long time ago. The last time-"  
  
"I put a spell on you every night so you wouldn't wake. I twisted your memories so you couldn't remember the wounds I had in the morning."  
  
The swordsman was speechless for a long moment. When he finally looked at her, his eyes were full of pain.  
  
"How could you do that, Lina? After all we've been through together, how could you do that to me?" he asked quietly as he stood.  
  
"Gourry, I-"  
  
"All I ever wanted from you, Lina, was trust. If you can't trust me enough to not lie, and I can't trust you enough to know if you're telling the truth, how can we be in love?" he wondered with a look of shell shock. When she did not reply, he continued. "If you could twist my memories, how do I know we're in love? How do I know you didn't do something... I can't even think straight!" he yelled, anger starting to pierce his sorrow. "How do I know you love me? How do I know, Lina?"  
  
"I wouldn't do that and you know it!" she yelled back, outrage temporarily overtaking pain.  
  
"That's just it! I don't know, Lina, I don't know at all!"  
  
"Why do you think I lied? If I didn't love you, Gourry Gabriev, why would I bother?"  
  
"So I wouldn't get in your way." He ventured. Her glare would have frightened a dark lord.  
  
"I lied because knowing the truth would have hurt you. I lied because there is nothing you can do. I just wanted to save you." She said, voice dropping back to almost normal.  
  
"That's not good enough." He replied softly.  
  
"Would you just listen to me?!" she demanded, crossing the room. Before he could pull away, she took his face in her hands and forced his eyes to hers.  
  
"I know you want to save me, Gourry, with all your heart, but there is nothing you can do."  
  
Slowly, he took her hands and pulled them away.  
  
"I understand." He whispered but continued before hope could chase away the sorceress's fears. "But it still wasn't a good enough reason for what you did. No matter what, Lina, I love you. I don't care if you made me feel that or not, but for what it's worth, I really believe you didn't. I love you more than anything in the world but I can't marry someone I don't trust. I'm sorry."  
  
And with that, he left the room. The tears that rained down her face would have put any storm to shame. Slowly, she sank to the floor. Was him still loving her as bad him hating her? The miserable sorceress thought it might be worse. Him still loving her meant that he still hurt and she couldn't save him from that. Even though she wanted to, with all her heart. As her thought echoed her earlier words, the tears began to slow. It seemed that a person's heart had nothing to do with what would come next. The only way to fix any of this was to win and Lina Inverse had no intention of losing.  
  
Before a plan could begin to formulate in her mind, she remembered what was coming next. She was going to have to face Xellos with the complete truth. She had a feeling his reaction might be worse than Gourry's. Well, maybe not worse but defiantly equal.  
  
Lina walked slowly down the hall, trying hard to hard to postpone the inevitable. She knocked lightly on Filia's door, knowing full well her quarry was there. The exhausted dragon pulled open the heavy, wood door.  
  
"Ms. Lina, you're awake!" she exclaimed. "I was so worried when-"  
  
"Filia, I'm so sorry." Lina whispered and pushed past her friend.  
  
"What are you-" she began, but was abruptly cut off when Lina held up her hand. The sorceress's ruby eye's connected with the monster's amethyst ones.  
  
"It's Thrayne." Was all she said and what was left of the world seemed to shatter.  
  
"Lina, how could you do this to me?" Filia whispered, horrified. Without waiting for an answer, she turned her eyes to the man she loved. "Xellos, I-"  
  
"I begged you to tell me the truth and you.." he paused as though he could not think of a word that suited what she'd done. "Lied." He finally spat. "And I believed you! I believed you so much that I lied to Gourry because you asked. Do you realize this is killing him? I can feel him from the other side of the palace! What a meal.. it'll probably attract every monster within a hundred miles!" he yelled, pushing the hair out of his face. "He *killed* you, Filia. I watched you *die*. I deserved to know." He finished, a horrified look entering his eyes, and both girls knew he was watching it happen again.  
  
"I'm sorry. Xellos, please listen to me. I had no other choice." Filia said, staying completely still.  
  
"You always have a choice." He replied quietly. "Why did you choose this?"  
  
Tears now coursed down her beautiful face.  
  
"I couldn't do it, Xellos. For the same reasons Lina couldn't tell Gourry what was happening, for the same reasons Amelia wouldn't send for Zelgaddis. We had to protect you because there is nothing you can do. Why don't any of you understand that?" Filia cried and buried her face in her hands.  
  
"Don't hate her, Xellos. It's what he wants." Lina spoke up for the first time since the fight had begun. The monster's eyes drifted over her small face, taking account of her weariness. His resolve did not soften.  
  
"I could never hate her, Lina. You and Thrayne would both do well to remember that." He replied coldly.  
  
"Then what do feel?" The golden dragon asked softly, wondering why the tears wouldn't stop. Instead of answering her question, he gave her one of his own.  
  
"How can you claim to love me after this?"  
  
The golden dragon crossed the room and gave him one, quick, resounding slap across the face. Her eyes held only love.  
  
"After this, how can you think I don't?"  
  
Without so much as a response, the monster disappeared. A long moment of frozen silence followed.  
  
"How could you do this?" Filia repeated.  
  
"You would have done the same thing in my position. Thrayne said if I didn't tell Xellos, he'd kill Gourry. You're my friend, but he's my soul." Lina answered, eyes catching those of her friend. A look of understanding passed between the two young women.  
  
"So what are we going to about this?" Filia demanded as she dropped onto her bed.  
  
"I have no idea." Lina replied as she followed the dragon's example. "All we have to is get our men back, and figure out who the hell is giving Thrayne all his power." She smirked. "Piece of cake."  
  
"You think this will be easy? He could kill us in a second if he wanted!" Filia asked, disbelief causing her voice to rise.  
  
"Doesn't matter," Lina shrugged. "We're not going to loose. Besides, when has dying ever stopped either of us?"  
  
The golden dragon shook her head.  
  
"And how do you plan to get Gourry back?"  
  
"That man is damn well going to marry me if he likes it or not!" Lina exclaimed. "I told you; I don't loose."  
  
Filia smiled gently.  
  
"Well than, should we give them some time to cool off?"  
  
"I don't think we really get a choice on that one. It'll take the pair of them a while. Let's get Zel and Amelia and figure this out. Zel's good with this kinda thing and we should fill Amelia in anyway." Lina said with a sigh.  
  
"It's going to be a long day." Filia said as they walked down the hall.  
  
"Don't I know it." The sorceress replied as they reached the princess's room.  
  
********************************  
  
"Why are you allowing this?" The general-priest roared as he stormed The Sea of Chaos.  
  
"You forget your place." The Lord of All Things warned. Instead of groveling at her feet as any sane creature would after hearing that tone, the monster stood his ground.  
  
"Why are you allowing this?" he demanded again.  
  
"What would be the point of creating a world of beings with free fill if only to control them?"  
  
"Then why did you save her at all?"  
  
"Because you deserved it."  
  
Xellos fell to his knees before the divine being.  
  
"How is he doing this to us, Mother? Please tell me that." He begged.  
  
She sighed.  
  
"I can only say that he found someone to give him this power."  
  
"But who could possibly be capable of such power? Not even the five dark lords could do this. Only Shabrinigdo could possibly.. But he's been divided, so he couldn't have. I don't understand, Mother...."  
  
"Shabrinigdo is not the only being of such power I created." L-sama said softly.  
  
"He was taken to another world?!" the monster exclaimed. "How could he possibly..."  
  
"He called and someone answered. It's very simple, actually."  
  
"Dark Star was destroyed last year, so that leaves Death Fog or Chaotic Blue. Mother, can you-"  
  
"I have already helped you more than I should have. This is what you'll have to do on your own." She cut him off.  
  
Although he greatly wanted to beg her for more, the general-priest recognized a dismissal from The Lord of Everything when he heard it and thus got to his feet.  
  
"Thank you for every thing, Mother." He said as he bowed and disappeared.  
  
As soon as he was gone, Zelas appeared.  
  
"Do you think he'll figure it out?" she asked and took a seat at L- sama's feet.  
  
"I have faith." The golden lord replied and would say no more.  
  
END OF CHAPTER SEVEN  
  
Gosh, that was a pain to write. *sigh* I'm sleepy... It's 3:00 am.... and here I am, typing this for all of you, sacrificing my own happiness and well being for YOU!! Review and make me feel better. ^_^  
  
-Ahria  
  
P.S.-- I realize there are probably a lot of errors in this extremely long chapter, but frankly, I don't care. I'm sorry everyone!! *bows* Just ignore the errors like a bad dream and they'll go away. That's what I do with people who annoy me.... 


	8. Chapter Eight: Zel: The Voice of Reason

Hello everyone!! I'm so sorry this has taken so long!! My computer has been broken, so I haven't been able to post anything.  
  
Chapter 8:  
  
Lina knocked lightly on the princess's bedroom door. A groggy- looking chimera answered a few moments later. The somber and weary looks on the Lina and Filia's faces snapped him out of his daze.  
  
"What are you two doing up?" he demanded like a chiding sibling. "Get in here and sit down." Silently, they followed his orders. By this time, Amelia was mostly awake.  
  
"Sorry to disturb you." Filia told the couple as a slight blush graced her cheeks.  
"Don't worry about it." Zel replied, his worry for them increasing. Lina had said nothing and only stared at the floor while the sorrow on Filia's face threatened to devour her whole.  
"What's wrong?" Amelia asked as she propped herself into a sitting position. "Where are Mr. Gourry and Mr. Xellos?"  
  
Slowly, the red-haired sorceress recalled her nightmare. She didn't have to say she'd followed Thrayne's orders. The tears in her eyes told them all they needed to know.  
  
"I had to," Lina said quietly, forcing the tears away. "There was no other way to save him."  
  
The princess sighed. "It was time for everything to be out in the open anyway."  
  
The other two women said nothing, thinking only of what the truth had cost them and wondering if it had really been for the best.  
  
"I need a knew room." Lina spoke up after a long and reflective pause. "As far away from Gourry as possible."  
  
"Isn't there any way that the two of you-" Amelia started.  
  
"He made things pretty clear when he walked out the door." The sorceress interrupted. The venom in her tone surprised her friends. Pain filled the princess's eyes as she nodded silently.  
  
"Filia," Zelgaddis started gently. "Do you know where Xellos-"  
  
"I'm right here." The monster chimed as he appeared in the room, dragging Gourry with him. "I've just been speaking with The Lord of All Things," he told them. "And she gave us a clue."  
  
"Do you know who's helping Thrayne?" Lina questioned, getting to her feet. The room only spun a little and she was fairly positive that no one noticed the small stumble. In all actuality, she didn't care if everyone saw as long as Gourry hadn't seen. She chanced a glance in his direction and saw him watching her intently. He caught her eyes and she saw pain that matched her own. Deliberately, she turned away.  
  
"No," Xellos answered. "But-"  
  
"Then what good is a clue?" the sorceress demanded harshly.  
  
"Lina," Gourry began, stepping foreword. Before he could continue, Amelia said, "Dinner will be served in an hour and we will discuss this than. Until then, gentleman, I must ask you to depart. We will meet you in the dinning hall when it is time and I expect you to be dressed appropriately." The tone in her voice reminded all that she would one day rule.  
  
"Then what was the point of you dragging me here?" Gourry muttered sourly, giving Xellos an annoyed look. With a frustrated sigh, he headed toward the door. Right before he left the room, he turned to study his sorceress.  
  
"Are you feeling up to the walk down or should I come up to get you?" he asked softly, nothing but concern in his tone.  
  
"I don't remember when my welfare became your responsibility." She replied dismissively. Her words drove the knife further into his heart.  
  
"The day we met." He snapped and stormed out of the room. Lina sunk back to her chair, once again willing the tears not to fall.  
  
With a sigh, Zel kissed Amelia on the forehead and followed his friend. Just Xellos was about to follow suit, Filia surged to her feet and snagged his arm. Automatically, his other arm went to steady her.  
  
"Why did you come back?" she whispered, forgetting her friends where in the room. He almost said nothing on account of their audience, but he could not ignore the hurt in her eyes. All the anger seeped out of him then, leaving only betrayal and pain behind.  
  
"Because I promised to solve this and nothing is going to stop me from that." A tear rolled down her cheek.  
"I'll get Val from the servants before dinner." He said after a moment, pulling away from her slight hold.  
"Thank you." She whispered and he was gone.  
  
"Everything will work out, Ms. Filia. I promise." Amelia said as she gently pushed her friend back into her chair.  
  
"You shouldn't be up." Filia replied softly. The princess smiled and took a seat on the foot of her bed, facing the other two. They now sat a triangle formation.  
  
"Ms. Lina, why did you have to be so mean to him?" Amelia wondered aloud.  
"I thought you were trying to get him back." The golden dragon said before Lina could answer.  
"I am, but until then, I can't need him anymore." Lina answered simply.  
"You're always going to need him." The princess told her.  
"Don't I know it." She sighed. A moment later, she asked, "Did you really mean that 'dressed for dinner' bit?"  
"Yes and you're not exempt." Came the reply.  
"But-" the sorceress began.  
"No." Amelia denied her protest.  
"Fine." Lina muttered her surrender when she saw she wasn't going to win.  
"Well then," Filia said cheerfully. "What are we going to wear?"  
  
*****************  
  
"And you just called off the wedding without even trying to understand?" Zel demanded.  
"I understand just fine!" Gourry responded, irritated. "She lied to me, again. She used magic to twist my memories. She-"  
"But why did she do all this?" the chimera cut him off.  
"She said it was to protect me." He answered quietly.  
  
"Xellos-"  
"Don't start." The monster snapped.  
"So you're just going to let her walk away?" Zelgaddis asked, fighting his anger. "You said you loved her."  
  
The general-priest caught the implication as expected and snapped, "I *do* love her."  
"Then why all this? Both of you?"  
  
"Zelgaddis, I know you remember when Hellmaster drained Amelia's life essence and you held her limp form close, begging her corpse to open its eyes." He paused and watched the chimera's eyes go dark with the memory. "I watched Thrayne kill Filia. He was laughing, just as Phibrizo was. I deserved to know he was doing this to them. She should have told me." He sighed. "Right now, I can't forgive the lie, no matter why she did it."  
  
"If she had told you the first time you asked, could you have saved her then? Could we have saved them by now?" Gourry questioned softly, wondered why such old wounds could bleed so easily. The question seemed to startle the monster as though it was something he had never thought of before.  
"I don't know." He finally answered. Pained silence filled the room  
  
"Gourry, what would you do to save Lina?" Zelgadis asked, trying once more to save his friends.  
"Anything." Came the automatic reply.  
"Would you lie to her to save her life?"  
"Yes." He answered, once again not needing to think to know the answer.  
"Then why can't you understand what she did?" the chimera asked quietly.  
"I understand." The swordsman replied. "I really do. I just can't make it not hurt and if it still hurts, than I can't forgive her."  
  
"There's nothing else I can say then. They hurt you and now when they need you most, you abandon them. I don't want to ever hear either of you talk about love." Zelgadis spat and left the other two men in a small state of shock.  
  
"He acts as though it's out fault they lied." Xellos said, forced anger hiding the pain in his voice.  
  
"I know we'll forgive them eventually," Gourry said and waited for the monster to agree. When Xellos nodded thoughtfully, he continued, "but it's going to take time."  
  
"I wonder if we have that time." The General-Priest said quietly.  
  
"I hope so," the swordsman replied. "I hope so."  
  
END OF CHAPTER 8  
  
There! I hope everyone liked that! Any questions or comments, please REVIEW and let me know!! I have the next two or so chapters done, and I should be putting them up soon, if you all let me know you're still interested. Thanks!!  
  
-Ahria 


	9. Chapter Nine: Surprises and Loss

Hello, everyone! Thank all of you who reviewed for doing so. All nine of you. ^_^ I was a little disappointed by this small number... but that's because of my massive ego. LOL so anyway, I hope you all enjoy this...  
  
CHAPTER NINE:  
  
The group of six met just outside the main dining room. Hardly a word was said before the colossal oaken doors were thrown open and the party allowed entrance. Amelia followed behind, making sure her friends were attended before partaking in the meal herself. Just before she entered the room, Gourry took her by the arm and pulled her aside.  
She gave him a measuring look as though trying to make up her mind.  
"Still speaking to me?" he questioned, trying hard to mask the nervousness with humor.  
"Of course." She replied.  
"But you're still on her side, aren't you?"  
"You both made mistakes," she sighed. "Now what was it you needed?"  
"A new room." He answered. Exasperation crept into her cobalt eyes.  
"Ms. Lina told me to change *her* room." She said.  
"Just move me to the one next to hers." A sad smile crossed the younger girls features.  
"She told me to move her as far away from you as possible."  
"I have to keep an eye on her, Amelia. I don't care what she thinks. I-"  
"I think I recall Daddy ordering all the other guest rooms to be redone," she paused thoughtfully. "The only one they haven't started on is the one across the hall from her." Relief and gratitude crept in his deep blue eyes.  
"Thanks, Amelia."  
"You're welcome."  
  
After the group had been seated and their meal served, Xellos told them of his news. The others sat very still as he recounted L-sama's clues, food all but forgotten.  
  
"So it's either Death Fog or Chaotic Blue." Lina finished with a sigh as she pushed her full plate away. The monster nodded.  
"What possible concern could we pose to either of them?" Filia questioned, bouncing baby Val on her knee.  
"Well, Lina has defeated both Shabrinigdo and Dark Star. I'd feel threatened if I was a dark lord." Xellos answered matter-of-factly.  
"Great," the sorceress spat. "I'm being punished because a couple of dark lords couldn't wait fifty years to try to destroy the world. No, no, they both had to destroy the world when I'm here to stop them."  
"Lina-"Gourry started, hating the look in her ruby eyes.  
"Do any of you think I wanted this?" she demanded, not even hearing the swordsmen. "All I wanted was to be stronger than my sister, not everyone else. Just Luna."  
"Think of all the good you've done!" Amelia exclaimed. "Think of all the-"  
"I'm starting not to feel well. I'm going to go lay down." Lina said abruptly and stood, silently daring each of them to stop her. When no one opposed her, she glided out of the room. As the she disappeared out the door, Gourry stood to follow.  
"I think she's had enough of you for one day. You should let her go." Filia said quietly. The look he turned on her nearly broke the rest of her heart.  
"I can't let her go." He whispered and sprinted after her.  
"Lina, wait!" he called.  
"Leave me alone." She responded without turning back. He dashed down the hall and gently snagged her arm.  
"Just talk to me." He urged, his grip unrelenting.  
"This isn't your job anymore." She said coldly. "You should be relieved."  
"Taking care of you has never been a job to me, Lina."  
"Please release me." She responded emotionlessly. Slowly, he dropped her arm and stepped away. Silently, they began to walk towards the room they'd once shared.  
"You're not going to talk to me like you used to, are you?" he asked eventually. It was impossible not to sense the pain in his words.  
"I can't have this conversation right now." Was the only thing she could think to say.  
"Lina, I lo-"he started as they reached the door.  
"Don't," she stopped him. "Just don't."  
"No." he snapped, and grasped her shoulders, forcing her to look at him. "I love you. You need to know that, Lina. I love you."  
"But not enough." She replied, pain filling her eyes.  
"How can you-"he began.  
"Do you forgive me?" she interrupted and pulled away. He took a deep breath as she opened the door.  
"I want to," he whispered. "But I can't right now."  
"Then we have nothing to talk about." She replied rigidly and slammed the door in his face. With a frustrated sigh, he returned to the dining room. All talking ceased upon his return and no one asked what had transpired between the two of them. Saying nothing, he sat.  
"Will one of you stay with her tonight?" Gourry asked after a long moment. "Please?"  
"I will." Filia reassured him a beat before Amelia.  
"Thank you." He told them with obvious relief.  
"Now I've only got to figure out how to get Ms. Lina to let Val stay with us. I doubt the servants are up to another night with this terror." She said affectionately as she tickled the child in her arms.  
Before any of the men could make there offer, as all three were about to do, a new voice sounded in the room.  
"I'll take him." BeastMaster Zelas said reluctantly as she took a seat in midair. Xellos, being the only one not stunned by the minor dark lord's arrival quickly bowed to his master.  
She gestured for him to get up and restated her offer.  
"I'll take care of the child until you get this little dilemma solved."  
"I couldn't possibly-"the golden dragon began.  
"I assure you that no harm will come to him when he is in my care." Zelas cut her off.  
"This isn't really a choice, is it?" Filia asked softly.  
"Well," the BeastMaster considered. "I'd put it in the 'optional but not really' category."  
"Why do you want him?" Zelgaddis questioned, hand unconsciously searching for his sword.  
"I don't," she answered pointedly. "But the Mother of All Things seems to think it would help you."  
  
Filia kept her eyes fixated on the marble floor and said nothing. Val tugged playfully at her hair, blissfully unaware of the tension in the room. Xellos came to knee in front of her and gently took her hand. It was then the others left the room, suddenly going from friends to intruders.  
"He'll be safe. I promise you." He whispered. When she remained silent, his grip became firmer. "Trust me." He urged.  
"Alright," she whispered. Softly, she kissed the little boy on the forehead. "Be a good boy, Valterria." She told him sternly. Gently, Xellos took the child from her arms and handed him to his master.  
"You have my word that he will be safe." Zelas repeated quietly and disappeared.  
"I didn't realize it had gotten so bad." She murmured once they were alone. Two tears escaped her careful hold and escaped down her cheeks.  
"Filia-"he began as he moved closer to her.  
"Don't comfort me. Please, I couldn't stand it." She interrupted and stared at the floor. He stepped back and disappeared in stunned silence. The tears stopped a few minuets later as the dragon steeled herself against the world. Steadily, she rose and left the room. Her friends waited, just down the hall. As all of them looked at her, nothing but concern in their eyes, she felt a flicker of hope inside.  
  
***************************************************  
  
"I am not pleased with you." The woman said coolly.  
"But Lina Inverse has admitted her deceit and the swordsmen is no longer with her." He replied, not understanding her displeasure.  
"I want Lina Inverse destroyed!" the Dark Lord growled as got to her feet. The sapphire gown dragged across the dark marble floor as she walked. "I want everything she loves to be taken away from her. As long as the swordsmen still loves her, she remains whole. Kill her friends and kill his love. Then leave her, broken and alone."  
"I think I have one more plan," Thrayne smiled. "Yes," he laughed, madness sparkling in his cold blue eyes. "That will do wonderfully."  
"You have one more month." The woman said graciously and paced back to her throne. The he-dragon bowed, depraved grin still in place.  
  
END OF CHAPTER NINE!!  
  
Hope everyone enjoyed!! Now go and REVIEW!!!!! 


	10. Chapter Ten: Only Hope

Hi!! How is everyone? Good, I hope. I wonder where everyone is these days... My friend says a lot of people don't review because I take so long to update. I'm sorry!! My life is really hectic so I rarely have any free time. So please, please review and pretend you love me!! ^_^ I do want to say thank you to all of you who did review! I'm so glad you're enjoying it so far. I'd also like to thank all the people who read through "A Bored L-sama" and then this story. That makes me really happy! Enjoy this chapter, everyone!!  
  
CHAPTER TEN:  
  
The absence of her child was more than enough to tell her friends what had happened.  
"Everything will ok, Ms. Filia." The princess whispered, wrapping her arms around the older woman's waist.  
"It has to be." The golden dragon replied quietly.  
  
"If you'd rather be alone tonight-"Gourry started.  
"I'll be fine. Ms. Lina needs someone to take of her." Filia cut him off. The gratitude in his eyes couldn't be expressed in words. She smiled in reply.  
"I should bring her some food. She hasn't been eating lately." The swordsman said with a sigh.  
"I don't think she'd take it from you," Amelia said gently.  
"I'll take care of it." The golden dragon volunteered. "I should tell her about Zelas and..." she trailed off. "I'll do it, don't worry, Mr. Gourry." He nodded his thanks and went into the dining room, muttering something about getting all her favorites. Wishing there was some way to get the two of them back together, the dragon trailed after him. With a sigh, Zel took Amelia's hand and led her away.  
  
******************  
Balancing the plate on one hand, Filia knocked quietly on the oaken door before entering the sorceress's chamber. Lina was sitting cross- legged on her bed and barely glanced up from the book in her lap.  
"I brought your dinner." The Golden Dragon said, setting the plate beside the redhead.  
"Not hungry." Lina replied, still not paying attention. Filia impatiently snatched the book from her friend.  
"Eat." She commanded, hoping not to be killed.  
"I *trying* to figure out who is behind all this." Lina snapped, glaring daggers at the young blonde woman who dared interrupt.  
"You passing out again won't help anyone," she replied angrily. When Lina glanced sparingly at the food, the dragon's resolve softened. "I haven't seen you eat in almost two days now. Please do this for me."  
  
The sorceress sighed in surrender and picked up a piece of beef.  
"Yes, Mother." She muttered. Filia took a seat on the bed and filled the sorceress in on what she'd missed at dinner.  
  
"He'll be fine," Lina told her softly as pushed the near-empty plate away.  
"I know," the blonde woman nodded with a sigh. A moment of silence passed before Filia asked, "So what were you reading?"  
  
"I'm trying to figure out how he's doing it. How he takes our spirits so easily." The sorceress answered.  
"Getting any closer?"  
"I have so many theories," Lina explained. "But I can't find anything to back them up."  
"Isn't the Seyrune royal family supposed to have the most detailed magic library on the continent?" Filia questioned.  
  
"I've heard that too. The strange thing is that there's hardly any books on magic here." She answered, gesturing to the small stack of books on a near by table.  
"That seems a bit odd."  
"I think I have a pretty good idea." The tiny redhead muttered darkly. "Let's go see the princess."  
  
*************  
  
A half hour later, they found Amelia and Zel in the garden.  
"We've been looking everywhere for you!" Lina exclaimed.  
"I'm glad to see you're feeling better." Amelia offered, not knowing what else to say.  
"Yeah, yeah, come on." The sorceress demanded, grabbing the younger girl's arm.  
"Where are we going?" Zelgadis asked, following behind the three young women. Lina stopped for a moment and regarded him thoughtfully.  
"This is something the three of us have to do." She replied quietly.  
"As much as I hate not know, I understand. Just be careful." He responded. The sorceress nodded gratefully.  
"Amelia, we'll be in the library. Meet us there in a little while." Lina said in a casual tone and walked away, Filia at her side. The princess nodded, confused.  
  
"I think she has a plan." Zel said as he drew Amelia onto a nearby stone bench.  
"I think so too and that's what scares me." She whispered.  
"Why?" he asked, pulling her close.  
"She doesn't care if she dies or not." Amelia said softly.  
"I can't see Lina wanting to die, no matter what." He tried to reassure her.  
"I don't think she wants to die. It's just that if it happened again... I don't think she'd fight to come back."  
"Gourry's half killing himself over this already. I don't think he could survive without her." The chimera sighed.  
  
"So if we loose one, than we lose them both." The princess concluded. "It's not like we didn't already know that." She added as an afterthought. Zelgadis nodded, following Amelia's memories back to when Hellmaster nearly won.  
"I should go." She said abruptly and stood. He rose with her and pulled her into his embrace.  
"Everything will work out. It always does." He told her.  
"You're not the one who's suppose to be optimistic." She replied.  
"I know everything will be fine, Amelia, because I'll never let you go. No matter what happens, I won't lose you." She smiled.  
"I won't let you lose me." She promised softly and pressed a kiss to his lips.  
"You should go before Lina looses her patience." The princess nodded, a little regretfully, and hurried off in the direction of her friends.  
  
******************  
  
"Took you long enough." Lina muttered. Amelia sighed and tried to look apologetic.  
"What is it that's so urgent?"  
"We need to go the library and figure this out. I think I have a plan."  
"Umm... Ms. Lina, we're in the library." The princess responded hesitantly.  
"Don't you think its strange that the white magic capital of the world has only ten books on magic in it's palace?" Lina asked, feigned innocence masking her features.  
"Well, there are so many shrines that we figured-"  
"Cut the act, Amelia." The princess sighed.  
"The royal family has a private library, but-"  
"Let's go." Lina cut her off.  
"It's forbidden! Only the royal family is allowed to enter." Amelia said sternly, holding her ground.  
"Why?" the sorceress demanded, crossing her arms over her chest.  
"There are spells in there that shouldn't even exist," the princes explained quietly. "It's my duty to keep my country safe from everything and that includes what's inside that library."  
"I'm only looking for one spell, Amelia. I promise never to try any of the others."  
"I'm sorry, Ms. Lina, I-"the princess began.  
"Do you *want* to die?" Lina snapped. "Because this is the only thing any of us can think of and if you don't let me look, than we'll just be sitting around waiting to get killed."  
The silence that followed her words was so tangible that one could almost reach out and grasp it.  
"I have a child who needs me, Ms. Amelia. Please..." Filia whispered.  
"It's our only hope." Lina whispered.  
"Both of you, promise me you'll never use any other spell you find in there." The Princess said quietly, carefully avoiding her friends' gaze.  
Lina came foreword to take the younger girl's hand.  
"I swear it, Amelia. No matter what, I'll never use anything else I find in there."  
"You have my word." The Golden dragon swore. With an affirmative nod of her head, the princess said, "Then follow me." She led them into the west wing of the palace. It was the only wing Lina had not explored, finding no reason to bother with storage rooms and servants quarters. They followed the younger girl to the end of a hall and into a small, drab storage room. There were boxes of supplies and a fireplace in the room. Amelia went to said fireplace and pushed in the brick in the very center. The entire back wall swung away and exposed an enormous library. The sorceress swore viscously. "This'll take us years to get through!" She growled. "Well, this half," Amelia said, indicating the shelves on the right, "are only healing and white magic. "And the those," she said, pointing to the section directly in front of her, "are attack and defense spells. All the ones on the left are miscellaneous." Lina sighed. "I guess that's where we'll start then." "What exactly are we looking for?" Filia asked, picking up a book and carefully flipping through it's yellowed pages. "Any type of tracking spell or spell that evolves taking a spirit from its body." She answered. Saying nothing more, the three began their search.  
  
*******************  
  
A few hours had passed, and they were still no closer than when they started. After looking at the last pages of the text in her hands, the princess glanced at her friends. It was then she noticed that Lina was still looking the same book as twenty minuets ago.  
"Did you find it, Ms. Lina?" Amelia asked a bit apprehensively. The sorceress looked up, trying to hide the guilt in her ruby eyes.  
"No, nothing." She answered quickly and set the book aside to choose another. Filia, who was closer, saw the title of the spell just before the book was shut. "To Erase a Memory". Seeing the flicker of alarm in her friends deep blue eyes, Amelia said quietly, "Don't forget your promise, Ms. Lina. These spells are forbidden for a reason."  
Trying hard to force anger to replace the guilt in her gaze, Lina replied, "I remember." And said nothing more. Another half hour and several books later, Lina perked up and exclaimed, "I found it!"  
"Do you have a plan?" Amelia demanded, sliding over next to her.  
"Of course." The sorceress replied.  
"What exactly did you find?" Filia questioned, positioning herself on Lina's other side.  
"A way to track a stolen spirit."  
"So we'll know where he takes us." The ex-priestess murmured.  
"Exactly," Lina said. "Now all we need is to decide who the bait will be."  
  
***********************  
"Where are they?" Gourry demanded as he burst into the chimera's room.  
"What's wrong?" Zel demanded.  
"I have to make sure they're ok. I have to-"  
"Calm down and tell me what's going on." The younger man said sternly, grabbing his friend by the shoulders.  
"I took a nap and I had a dream." The swordsman began.  
"Thrayne-"  
"No, it wasn't him. I think it was L-sama, but it doesn't matter right now. The girls... they... Thrayne had them again and... We have to find them. Right. Now. None of the servants know where they are and I can't find them anywhere."  
"Xellos will know." The chimera answered. "Hey, Xellos!!"  
  
********************  
"I really don't like this plan." Lina muttered as Amelia laid down on the floor.  
"It's the only way. Neither Ms. Filia or I would be able to figure out where he took you nor am I strong enough to hold the spell. I'm the only one who can go."  
"I didn't say it wasn't logical," the sorceress muttered. "I just said that I didn't like it." Amelia took each of her friend's hands and smiled reassuringly.  
"This will all be over soon and everything can go back to normal." She said and closed her eyes. With a solemn nod, Lina cast a sleep spell on the princess and than laid down next to her.  
"Good luck," the golden dragon murmured as Lina cast the sleep spell on herself. A moment later, Filia began the spell that would hopefully save them all.  
  
*********************  
  
"What?" Xellos snapped testily as he appeared in the room. His annoyance was gone the moment he saw the faces of his friends. "What happened?"  
"We can't find them!" Gourry said impatiently.  
"What do you mean you ca-"Xellos began.  
"Lina had some plan and dragged the others off with her. That was about four hours ago. They were just going to the library, so I didn't think anything of it, but now we can't find them. Anywhere."  
Growling in frustration, Xellos shut his eyes. He opened them a second later, fear overtaking any other emotion.  
"I can't since them anywhere, but I think I know where they are." He muttered darkly.  
"Where?" the other two demanded.  
"There's something in the west wing that's completely shielded. If they were there, then it would make since that we couldn't find them."  
"Let's go." Gourry said.  
  
************************  
  
"Good to see you again, Princess." Thrayne sneered as ran his fingers through her raven tresses.  
"Don't touch me." She growled defiantly, despite the fact that she was completely chained up.  
"I'll miss playing with you, Princess." He said as though he hadn't heard her. Before she could ask what he meant, there was a dagger in his hand. Gently, he set it at her throat. "Don't worry, it'll all be over soon."  
"Please don't." she whispered, tears welling in her eyes.  
"You'll see your friends soon. Don't worry, Princess." He said cheerfully and slit her throat in one quick motion. As the first drop of blood slid down her neck, a single tear rolled down her ashen cheek.  
  
END OF CHAPTER TEN!!  
  
How's that for a cliffhanger? ^_^ Sorry I've been MIA for so long... I'm trying to get better at not doing that. Anyhow, REVIEW! Oh, and don't flame me yet... please... 


	11. Chapter Eleven: The Only Thing

HI!!! How is everyone? Good, I hope. Anyway, once again, I lost my inspiration for this fic and it took forever for me to be able to write it. I'm sorry for making you wait! Lately, I've been getting a lot fewer reviews, and someone pointed out it's because I take so long to update. What do you guys think? If this is true, please tell me... Anyway this next thing is IMORTANT!!!! THE RATING FOR THIS CHAPTER IS "R" DUE TO EXTREMLY GRAPHIC AND ADULT CONTENT. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.  
  
CHAPTER ELEVEN: The Only Thing  
  
The sorceress's ruby eyes flew open and went directly to the form of her younger friend, laying next to her on the ground. A pool of crimson liquid was forming rapidly, spilling the essence of her life over the uneven stone floor.  
  
The princess's deep blue eyes were open wide with shock, staring into the distance with an emptiness that frightened the redhead. She spared a glance at Filia as she cast the healing spell and to her dismay, saw the blonde just then sitting up. A thin line of blood trickled down her delicate throat, staining her gown.  
  
The dragon came to her senses and cast a healing without delay. She didn't seem to notice her own injury.  
  
"Filia," Lina started quietly, trying to bring it to her attention. The sorceress would not loose either of her friends.  
  
"I know." Came the short reply. Knowing Filia would not stop, even to heal herself, Lina said nothing more.  
  
Just then, the door of the hidden library was thrown open and three very frantic men rushed into the room.  
  
"Oh, Gods... Amelia..." Zel whispered and went to help the other two women. Xellos and Gourry hung back, both knowing they'd only be in the way.  
  
"This is worse than before," Filia said softly, trying to prepare them for the worst. "I'm not sure if we-"  
  
"She'll be fine." Lina growled with such ferocity that even Gourry was stunned.  
  
"That's right." The chimera snarled, matching the rage in his friend's tone. Afraid to say anything more, the dragon was silent. She closed her eyes and concentrated harder, pulling forth every last bit of energy she had.  
  
The light poured from her hands and into the princess, sealing the rest of the deep gash in her porcelain flesh. Slowly, the blood around them disappeared, absorbing back into her veins. Her chest began to rise and fall, breathing almost normally. The three poured magic into her for what seemed like an eternity, until finally, they could do no more. All traces of blood were gone, and her hauntingly empty eyes had drifted closed.  
  
Zel looked up at Filia expectantly, wanting to know her opinion on his future wife's medical condition.  
  
"Physically, she's healed. She was so far gone though, I don't know if..." she looked away, unable to bear the pain in his aqua eyes. "I don't know if she'll wake up."  
  
When no one said anything, she tried to stand but found herself unable to do so. Lina had snagged her arm and was pressing a healing spell to her throat, ignoring her own exhaustion. Filia was silently thankful, knowing she didn't have the energy to cast another spell. Before she could try to stand again, Xellos had lifted her from the floor and into his arms.  
  
"You're in no shape to walk." He said quietly. Her mind screamed to make him let her go, but heart clung so tightly that she couldn't let him go.  
  
"What happened?" Zel demanded, not looking up from Amelia's face.  
  
"We cast a tracking spell, to find Thrayne." Lina answered, not bothering to lie anymore.  
  
"And you used your friend as bait? How noble." He scoffed angrily, lifting his eyes to meet the sorceress's. Lina didn't blink as she slapped him across the face.  
  
"It was her choice. We tried to talk her out of it. Filia had to anchor it and I was the only one who would be able to tell where he was. Neither of them know anything about the other realms." Lina snapped, voice as sharp as a blade. "If you ever accuse me of being a coward or sacrificing my friends again, you will regret it. You have no idea what I've given up for all of you. No idea at all."  
  
He said nothing, but instead lowered his eyes in shame. Gently, she covered his hand with her own.  
  
"She's one of the strongest people I know and she will wake up. She will be fine. Zelgadis, you have my word." She whispered. He looked up at her once more.  
  
"You always keep your promises. I trust you." He said as he picked up his princess.  
  
A ghost of a smile flickered through her eyes just before they slid shut, exhaustion finally taking its toll. With a sigh, she dropped onto her side, unable to continue sitting up. Gourry was there in an instant, gathering her against him. She opened her eyes briefly and he saw the war of emotions that resided there. Lina was contemplating whether or not she wanted his help, and whether or not she forgave him for the hurt he'd caused her.  
  
He knew that no matter what she thought, he was going to help her. Part of him wished for her forgiveness, even though he had yet to forgive her. His other half, however, prayed that she held on to all that anger for he wasn't sure that he'd keep his if all he saw in her eyes was pain. She closed her eyes before he could see the answer.  
  
"Why'd Filia have an echo of Amelia's wound?" Xellos asked quietly as they left the room. He gave a searching glance at his male friends, but knew they were as lost as he was. His eyes settled on Lina, hoping she wasn't to far gone to answer.  
  
"I was the anchor," Filia murmured sleepily, surprising him. "Our lives were connected."  
  
Gently, he leaned in to kiss the top of her head, and tears welled beneath her eyelids. Glancing at their friend, neither Gourry nor Zel saw any anger or betrayal left in the other man's deep amethyst orbs. Gourry looked away. Silently, each couple went to their respective room.  
  
Placing Amelia on her bed, Zel allowed one tear to escape his control, knowing that no one would be there to observe the weakness. Pulling the satin covers over her limp form, he prayed for the first time in many years. Sometimes, praying is the only thing left to do.  
  
*******************************************  
  
As soon as he had Filia lying down comfortably, he curled up next to her and pulled the blanket over them both. He pulled her close, having missed her warmth and softness. He stroked her golden hair and kissed her brow.  
  
"Xellos..." she mumbled.  
  
"Hmm..."  
  
"Pretend you love me again. Please? I need you..." she whispered and he saw a tear slide down her pale cheek. Fighting tears of his own he wiped it away.  
  
"I never stopped loving you, Filia. I'm so sorry you ever thought that." He said, pulling her closer.  
  
"You... forgive me?" she asked softly, so close to sleep now.  
  
"Of course. I forgive you, Filia, my love. Sleep and I'll protect you."  
  
And with that, she drifted into oblivion.  
  
********************  
  
"Put me down." The sorceress demanded softly, as he paused to open he door.  
  
"You couldn't even sit up." He snapped, making the mistake of looking down into her eyes. As he feared, her anger was gone, leaving only pain behind.  
  
"Put me down." She repeated, the sting of tears behind her eyes. Knowing she wouldn't be able to hold herself up, he set the sorceress on her feet but kept hold of her shoulders. She sagged against the door, fighting exhaustion.  
  
"Lina..." he whispered, hoping she'd give up the show of bravo and let him help her.  
  
"Please," she begged, the tears she'd struggled so desperately to stop winning the battle and trickling down her cheeks. The tears were his undoing. "Just leave. I can't do this anymore. It hurts too much."  
  
"Lina-"  
  
"Just go!" she sobbed, trying to sink back into the door. "I'm sorry I lied. I'm sorry I hurt you, Gourry, I'm so sorry. But I can't change it." The words broke as the tears raged faster. "At least you know I'm suffering. At least you know I'm repenting for my-"  
  
Her words were cut off as he gently pressed his lips to hers.  
  
"I don't want you to suffer, Lina. No matter how angry I was at you, I never wanted you to suffer. I was hurt, yes, but Gods... I didn't want you to hurt, too." He paused, and glanced around the hall. "Can we at least go inside for privacy's sake?"  
  
She shook her head stubbornly.  
  
"I can't let you in."  
  
"Why?" he demanded.  
  
"Because I don't have the strength to watch you walk back out again." She answered as she lowered her face. With gentleness that made the tears come even faster, the swordsman raised her chin so he could look into her eyes.  
  
"I understand, Lina. I understand that you thought you were saving me." He told her sincerely. She tried to look away but found it impossible.  
  
"Understanding and forgiveness are two very different things." She said softly. A moment later, she was back in his arms and he was opening the door to her room.  
  
"Gourry-"  
  
"I forgive you."  
  
She remained silent as he carried her into the room, all the while wondering if her heart would burst with joy. He set her down in the center of the large, soft bed and then settled down next to her. With great caution, so careful not to hurt her, he pulled his sorceress close and cradled her against him.  
  
"Thank you," she said softly, the tears finally ceasing. "I love you, Gourry."  
  
"I know," he whispered, kissing the top of her head. "I'm sorry I doubted you."  
  
"I forgive you." She said simply, snuggling closer.  
  
"I love you." He whispered right as she fell into the depths of sleep.  
  
*****************  
  
The night passed unbearably slow for the chimera. He sat next to the princess's bed, pleading with the gods to let her wake. Surely they wouldn't let her slip away. Surely, not after all the good she'd done. Sunlight began to filter through the chiffon curtain and settled on the girl's perfect features. She looked peaceful, and he had the relief of knowing that nothing haunted her dreams. He studied her face for the thousandth time, wondering if heaven would take his angel back.  
  
"Lina promised you'd wake up," he told the sleeping princess. "And you promised you wouldn't let anything take you away from me. I'm holding the both of you to those promises." A moment of silence passed before he added, "I love you."  
  
***********  
  
Xellos woke just after the sun rose. His arms rested around Filia's waist and she was snuggled closely to his chest. He lay there for a long while, stroking her hair and wishing their newfound peace would last. An hour or so later, his golden dragon awoke and sent him a brilliant smile.  
  
"Did you sleep well?" he asked, watching her closely.  
  
"I didn't dream." She answered honestly. He nodded and leaned in to kiss her, repeating his plea for peace like a mantra in his mind.  
  
*************  
  
Strong sunlight poured from the windows, illuminating the sorceress's hair until it glowed like fire. The swordsman absently ran his fingers through those beautiful tresses, hoping she would sleep just a bit longer. It was the least she deserved. The soft, peaceful expression told him that she had been spared from dreams that night and he thanked L-sama for it.  
  
His hand slid from her hair to her face, gently caressing her cheek.  
  
"I'm hungry," the young woman mumbled as his fingers began tracing her delicate mouth. Smiling, he brushed his lips across her. Without opening her eyes, she pushed herself closer, making her offer clear. Without hesitation, Gourry kissed her deeper, praying to L-sama that Lina would always be safe.  
  
********  
  
Around ten o'clock, Lina and Gourry wandered to the kitchen for a late breakfast. Xellos and Filia were sitting at a small table in the corner, eating a small meal.  
  
"Good morning." Filia said, pouring the two some tea.  
  
"'Morning." They replied as they sat down, plates laden with food.  
  
"Have you seen Zel?" Lina asked just before digging in.  
  
"No." Xellos shook his head. "He's still with Amelia."  
  
Lina's eyes darkened at the thought of her friend and silently she berated herself for the happiness that had previously encompassed her. Gourry's hand came to take hers.  
  
"We'll check on her when we're done." He promised, trying to ease her misplaced guilt. Silently she nodded.  
  
**************  
  
When the four were done with their meal, they walked quietly to Amelia's room, bringing a plate of food with them. They entered without knocking, knowing Zel would have ignored them. Lina set the plate down on the table and sat on the edge of the bed. The chimera barely looked at them.  
  
"Mr. Zelgaddis, please eat." Filia said, taking his hand.  
  
"I'm not hungry." He answered softly, tone nearly devoid of emotion. No matter how hard any of them tried, he would not say anything more. After almost an hour, they left, feeling more than futile.  
  
"I know where he is." Lina said suddenly as they walked down the hall. The other three quit walking to stare at her in disbelief. She motioned for them to follow her. They went to her room as fast as they could without drawing the attention of the servants.  
  
"Where is he?" Xellos demanded as soon as the door was shut.  
  
"The Underworld." She replied.  
  
"Then it's Chaotic Blue." The monster reasoned.  
  
"It has to be." Lina responded with a forlorn nod.  
  
"Well then, what are we going to do about it?" Gourry asked, his deep blue eyes uncommonly solemn.  
  
"We find a way to get into that world and then we kill him." Xellos snapped.  
  
"And how do we do that?" Gourry snapped back. Realizing the anger in his words was insulting his friend, the General-Priest sighed.  
  
"Lord BeastMaster has a talisman specifically designed for world to world travel." He told them.  
  
"But...?" Filia prodded, noticing hopelessness in his eyes.  
  
"I haven't seen it for centuries. She threw it in one of the treasuries after The War of The Monsters Fall. It would take me a very long time to find it."  
  
"Well, if we all went, then it would go faster." Gourry stated the obvious.  
  
"None of you can come to Wolf Pack Island. Lord BeastMaster would never allow it."  
  
"Then I suggest that you get going." Lina said, arms across her chest. Briefly closing his eyes as a gesture of defeat, Xellos turned to Filia and took her hands. Lina and Gourry suddenly decided the other side of the room had very interesting wallpaper.  
  
"I'll be back tonight to check on you." He promised, and kissed her softly on the mouth. Just before he transported away, the Golden Dragon pulled him into a tight hug.  
  
"I love you." She whispered. He ran his hands up her back and replied, "I love you, too." And with that he disappeared.  
  
********************  
  
The rest of the day passed uneventfully. The three checked on Zelgadis and Amelia every few hours, each time trying to get the chimera to eat or rest. He would do neither and still the princess had not stirred.  
  
Finally, several hours after dark, they went to bed. Filia went alone to her room despite Lina offer to let her stay in her room (she said Gourry could sleep on the floor). With a smile, Filia declined.  
  
"I hope she's ok." Lina spoke as she climbed into bed.  
  
"I'm sure when Xellos gets back, everything will be fine." Gourry assured her as he stretched out next to her. A moment later, he had her pulled tight against his chest.  
  
"I love you, Gourry." She told him, a feeling of dread settling into her heart.  
  
"I love you too, more than anything." He replied kissing her. A while later, his breathing eased as he fell asleep. The sorceress lay awake long into the night, savoring the feeling of his warmth and strength. Eventually, sleep won her, too.  
  
********************  
  
"How nice to see you again, ladies." Thrayne smirked. Wanting to scream in frustration, Lina tugged at the leather straps that bound her arms and legs. Oddly, she was bound to a large metal table instead of a wall. She craned her neck to see the rest of the room and spotted Filia bound in the same way on the other side of the room.  
  
"It's a pity I had to kill the other one. I have to say she was the most amusing. Always going on about 'justice'." A depraved smile lit his face. The two girls' eyes connected with instant understanding. He didn't know they'd saved Amelia.  
  
"You'll die for what you did to her." Filia growled, knowing only hate for the man who stood before her. He shrugged indifferently as he pulled out a long, wicked-looking dagger. The Golden Dragon didn't even flinch. Still smiling, he began to drag the blade along her arm, leaving a thin trail of blood in its wake.  
  
"Do you know why you are here, my dragon?" he crooned.  
  
"I am not yours!" she spat. He leaned in closer.  
  
"You will be soon enough. Mine and mine alone." He said, the look in his eyes chilling her very soul.  
  
"No." she cried as he began to cut away her clothes. Lina, finally realizing the crazy man's intentions and began to scream. He ignored her. Filia was thrashing wildly, causing the knife to slip and cut in many places, but she didn't care. When all her clothes became a pile of rags on the floor, she began to cry but did not stop fighting.  
  
"Don't cry, my dragon." He snickered as he ran his hands possessively over her naked flesh. "You will be mine." He promised as he lowered his mouth to her throat.  
  
Frantically, Lina pulled at her bindings. She felt her right wrist snap and cried out. The sound of pain brought his attention to her.  
  
"I wouldn't advise continuing that if I were you." He told her coldly, hate creeping into his eyes. Sending back a glare of her own, she continued pulling and tugging, the pain of her broken wrist forcing tears down her cheeks.  
  
"There's nothing you can do to stop me!" She screamed. "You are nothing! You can't do anything to me! You aren't a real man. No woman would ever want you.  
  
"Is that so?" he demanded, crossing over to her. He placed the tip of the dagger on her collarbone and dragged it down, neatly slicing cloth and flesh. Roughly, he pulled the remnants of her shirt away.  
  
"Yes." She said, keeping her eyes on his.  
  
"Lina, stop!" Filia screamed, knowing that the sorceress was deliberately making him forget his intentions toward the Golden Dragon.  
  
"I could have you if I wanted you. I can have anything I want." He said, cutting away the rest of her clothes.  
  
"You can't have me." She insisted, sparing one last look at her friend. Filia was crying and screaming, begging her stop. How could she stop if that meant he'd hurt her friend instead? "You're dirt. No woman would ever want you."  
  
Quickly, he shed his own clothes and cut the leather straps that bound her feet. She tried desperately to kick him, putting all her energy into fighting him. Instead he grabbed her knees and wrenched her legs apart. She kept fighting and finally he shattered her kneecaps. Unbearable pain shot through her body, making movement an impossibility. As he climbed on top of her he leaned down to whisper in her ear.  
  
"Remember the look on your swordsman's face when you tell him I had you first."  
  
Filia was still crying. Thrayne was still laughing. And Lina... Lina only screamed.  
  
END OF CHAPTER 11  
  
Please don't flame me. Please, please, please... Tell me what you thought... This chapter was beyond hard to write. I'm sorry if the ending of this chapter offended anyone, but I did warn you in the beginning... Once again, please review! 


	12. Chapter Twelve: Guilt

Hello everyone! Thanks to all of you who reviewed. That last chapter was very hard to write and I really appreciate all the positive comments I got.  
  
I would like to say to LinaLoN that while I respect your opinion, I did state that I had a reason for what happened. Maybe you should've waited until the end before attacking my work. I also gave a warning in the beginning of the chapter about what it contained.  
  
If I didn't want to write this story anymore, I wouldn't. I feel no obligation to continue this and it is only for my own amusement that I do so. Don't give me orders. Don't tell me what my story deserves. Frankly, it is my story. Mine. I can do whatever I want. Don't read it anymore if you think it's 'senseless crap', as you put it.  
  
Oh and your comment about what happened on Kenshin. Umm... I'm sorry to be the one to clue you in, but Kenshin is fiction. Fiction, meaning that it isn't real. In real life, breaking your wrists wouldn't do anything. You couldn't slide your hands out of constraints if you broke your wrists. The only way to get out of handcuffs or leather straps fitted to your wrists (as in the story) is to shatter your actual hands or cut off your thumb. Now, if you can do it by breaking your wrists, I'll be happy to rewrite it.  
  
takes deep breath So anyway, on to something that's actually important. Chapter Twelve!  
  
CHAPTER TWELVE:  
  
Her screams woke him and automatically he saw the cuts appearing on her skin. No matter how much he begged and yelled and shook her, she didn't awake. Tears coursed down her angelic face, doing nothing to mar the perfection of her beauty.  
  
"Filia, wake up!" he shouted again and finally her sapphire eyes flew open.  
  
"Lina!" she sobbed, pushing him away and tumbling off the bed. She was on her feet and out the door only a moment later, not remembering the various wounds that covered her flesh. Without slowing, she threw the door of the sorceress's room open and ran inside.  
  
Gourry was frantic, screaming and shaking her, wanting only to save her from the one thing he couldn't. Blood was everywhere, soaking the sheets. Heedless of her own health, Filia jumped onto the bed and began healing. Knowing he would only hinder the magic, Gourry moved aside and watched. As soon as the power began flowing through the redhead's body, her ruby eyes flew open.  
  
The swordsman reached out to grab take her hand, but she pulled it away and began to sob.  
  
"I'm sorry." She cried, covering her face with her hands. "I'm sorry, Gourry. He... He..." the rest of the words just wouldn't come out and she tried to role to her side.  
  
Tears were coursing down the Golden Dragon's face. "Leave." She ordered the men sternly.  
  
"But-"Gourry began to protest.  
  
"I have to heal her." She growled, hurt so evident in her voice. Silently, she indicated the lower half of Lina's body. It was then that the confused men saw where most of the blood came from. It was then that they understood.  
  
"I'm not leaving her." Gourry said, tone hard and vicious. He turned to Xellos. "Find that talisman within the next hour."  
  
"I will." The monster replied and disappeared.  
  
Gourry sat on the bed, opposite of Filia. Lina lay between them, still sobbing. Gingerly, he stroked her hair.  
  
"Stop it!" she screamed, jerking away. "You can't! You can't..."  
  
Filia grabbed the younger woman and forced her to stay still.  
  
"I have to heal you, so stop moving." She ordered. Lina complied only for one reason. She would live and make the man pay. And he would pay.  
  
Not wanting to upset her again, the swordsman went and stood facing the door. Ten minuets passed.  
  
"I'm done." Filia said softly, and began to heal her own wounds. Gourry returned to Lina's side and sat. She curled into a ball.  
  
"I won't touch you," he whispered tenderly. "You have to know that I would never..."  
  
"Stop it!" she moaned. "You can't... not anymore... not after what he did..."  
  
"I can't what?" he asked softly, almost reaching out.  
  
"You can't... love me... you can't..."  
  
It was too much. The man began to cry, her words diving daggers into his heart. Filia had never once seen such anguish in a living being in the entirety of her life.  
  
"I should go check on Amelia." Filia said softly, and left the room.  
  
"Lina... I'm sorry. I'm sorry... I didn't save you. Gods, please... don't blame yourself, please." He cried, the words slightly muffled by his hands. "I'm going to kill him. I'm going to make him suffer so much he'll be begging to die. Just please, please, don't blame yourself, Lina."  
  
When she made no reply, the man buried his face in his hands and wept bitterly. After a long while, he felt a small pair of arms wrap around his shoulders and pull him close. He wanted nothing more than to reach for her but kept his word and did not touch.  
  
She offered him all the strength she had left, wanting only to ease his pain and that fact alone shattered the rest of his heart. Slowly, as his tears abated, she released him. With much regret, he sat up.  
  
"How can you... Why..." she sighed, at a loss for words.  
  
"How can I what?" he asked softly. She dropped her eyes to the floor.  
  
"How can you still love me? How can you love me now that I'm... tainted?"  
  
Slowly, as not to scare her, he moved his hand until it hovered just below her chin.  
  
"Don't ever look down to me." He ordered and immediately regretted the harshness of his tone. The words surprised her into looking up and he caught her gaze.  
  
"You know what I thought the day I met you?"  
  
She shook her head in the negative.  
  
"I thought you were the purest being I'd ever seen. Even when you were haggling with that old man and trying to look so tough and bad, there was just this innocence about you. That night, I woke up and thought you'd been a dream because you were too perfect to be true. I snuck into your room, just to see if you were real. When I saw you sleeping... I knew. I knew that I loved you."  
  
"That was a very long time ago." She said gently and tried to look away. The sorrow in his eyes would not allow her to.  
  
"Nothing's changed." He shrugged. "I don't know how else to convince you."  
  
She only shook her head. He folded his hands and rested them in her lap.  
  
"Lina Inverse, you are innocent and pure and perfect. I love you. I know I don't deserve an angel, yet here you are. I know you're hurting and I don't know if I can make it better..."  
  
"I don't know either." She whispered. When she saw the self-hatred in his eyes deepened, she covered his hands with her own. "This isn't your fault, Gourry."  
  
"I've lost you too many times, Lina. I just got you back and now I've lost you again. All the other times, I knew I'd get you back. No matter how bad things got or how far away you were, I always knew. But this time... I don't know if I can find you again."  
  
"I'm sor-"  
  
"Don't apologize, please! Please, this isn't your fault. I couldn't stand it if I heard you blame yourself anymore."  
  
"I can't feel guilty, but you can?!" she exclaimed, jerking her hands away. As he looked into her turbulent ruby eyes, the swordsman was lost.  
  
"I love you." Was all he could say. After that, he fell silent. She, too, was silent for a long moment. She became lost in thought and he watched as her face lit up with an idea. A shadow of guilt crossed her features, but he knew that look. It meant that what ever she had decided, her mind would not be changed.  
  
"Don't worry," she said finally, voice full of resolve. "Everything will be fine soon.  
  
"What-"he began.  
  
"Don't worry," she repeated, effectively refusing to tell him.  
  
"That just makes me worry more." He replied. She smiled softly and just a hint of her old mischievousness showed through.

* * *

Zelgaddis met the ex-priestess at the door.  
  
"What happened?" he demanded, ushering her into the room. "I would have come to help, but..." he looked helplessly at Amelia's still form. Gently, the Golden Dragon placed a hand on his arm and nodded her understanding.  
  
His solemn eyes held gratitude and he all but forced her into a chair. Silently he marveled that someone so obviously exhausted could still stand.  
  
"Where's Lina and Gourry? Is Lina-"  
  
"She's fine... physically." Filia said, cutting him off.  
  
"What do you mean?" he questioned. With much sorrow, Filia told the chimera what had occurred. She looked at the ground in shame as she finished.  
  
"It only happened because of me. It's my fault. She tricked him into leaving me alone."  
  
"Filia," he said softly, reaching over to take her hands. "The man's depraved. There is nothing logical about what he did. You can't blame yourself for that."  
  
She nodded, but still did not look convinced.  
  
"He wouldn't have..." the stone man could not bring himself to say the word. "He wouldn't done what he did to Lina if he hadn't already planned on it."  
  
She looked up, startled.  
  
"Why would he..." she trailed off and shook her head. "With me, I... I understand. He thinks I belong to him, but Lina..."  
  
"I don't know why." Zelgaddis told her with a frustrated sigh. "How's Gourry?" he asked a moment later.  
  
"Devastated." She whispered. "It almost killed him."  
  
"He blames himself." Zel sighed quietly.  
  
"Of course," she nodded. "Even though it isn't his fault."  
  
"Where's Xellos?" the chimera asked a moment later.  
  
"Gourry ordered him to find that talisman. He told him to be back in an hour. I've never seen Gourry so..." she trailed off, unable to find the right word. "Scary." She decided. "He scared me."  
  
"I should go check on them." The chimera said. "Could you-"  
  
"I'll stay."  
  
"Thank you."

* * *

He knocked twice before opening the door. Lina and Gourry sat facing each other, both obviously lost in thought. He could tell Lina was planning something and almost smiled. Glancing at Gourry, all humor died.  
  
The swordsman was planning something too. His bright blue eyes were dark with hate and the chimera wondered if his friend would ever be the same.  
  
"How are you?" Zel asked quietly, startling the couple out of their reprieve. Lina's eyes connected with his for just a moment before she looked away.  
  
"Filia told you." She stated, trying hard to keep the shame out of her voice.  
  
"Lina Inverse!" he exclaimed, forcing surprise into his features. "When have you ever felt guilty about anything? Remember Martina? Remember how you destroyed her kingdom?"  
  
The sorceress pursed her lips in thought.  
  
"I did do that, didn't I?" she pondered out loud.  
  
"That's twice you've forgotten!"  
  
"Well, she deserved it! Man is that girl annoying!" Lina protested, sending her friend a death glare. She was silent for a moment before she smiled at him. "Thanks, Zel."  
  
Not knowing what to say, he smiled back.

* * *

"You did as I asked, Zelas?"  
  
"Yes, Mother. I'm sure he'll find the talisman soon." Beast Master replied, watching her general-priest search through a treasure room.  
  
"I wonder if Chaotic Blue will try to interfere. I suppose I could send you with a message." L-sama said, toying with the idea. Zelas blanched.  
  
"But, Mother, Lady Chaotic Blue is so much more powerful than me and- "  
  
"It's times like these that I truly wish to regain my form." The Creator of All Things sighed, and looked at the young woman to her right. "She will not harm, so do not concern yourself over that. I will send you with a simple message. Tell her that she is no longer allowed to aid Thrayne in any way. He is on his own now. Also tell her that she failed to kill Lina Inverse and her friends. Chaotic Blue does not get another chance. If she does not comply, I will strip her of her powers."  
  
"As you wish." Zelas whispered and bowed. With a wave of her hand, L- sama sent Beast Master into the Underworld.

* * *

Xellos appeared in Lina's room.  
  
"I found it." He said, holding up a silver and ruby pendent. Silently, Gourry moved to stand in front of his friend. Lightly, he placed his hand on the monster's shoulder. "Thank you." He said quietly. Xellos nodded solemnly.  
  
"Let's all go to Amelia's room. That's where Filia is." Zel suggested.

* * *

"You dare to give me orders, you petulant little brat?!" Chaotic Blue screamed. Zelas sighed. The news had not gone over so well.  
  
"I would never presume to give you orders, Milady. I am merely a messenger." Zelas said with a low bow.  
  
"Oh yes, a messenger from Mother. Does she really think so little of me that she would send such a weakling?"  
  
Beast Master said nothing. Chaotic Blue continued. "What will she do if I disobey?"  
  
"Strip you of your powers and name a new Dark Lord of the Underworld." Zelas replied sweetly. Chaotic Blue's deep sapphire eyes hardened with a hate so deep that even Zelas, one of the monster race, would never understand it's depths.  
  
"Tell Mother," she spat. "That I will yield to her wishes, as always."  
  
Bowing once more, Zelas disappeared.  
  
END OF CHAPTER 12  
  
I hope everyone liked this... If anyone is gonna flame me again, please wait until the story is completely done so you don't look stupid. As I have stated, I have a reason for everything that happens in this story. Oh, BTW, this fic is drawing to a close. I'm gonna say... three more chapters or so. That way or way not change though. I have the next chapter done, so hurry and review!!  
  
-Ahria 


	13. Chapter Thirteen: Lost

Hello all!! I live!! Amazing, yes? I'm so sorry about the long wait. My computer crashed with all my files on it and once we were able to fix that and I got almost everything back, we lost our stupid internet. I'm really sorry everyone. Thanks for all the wonderful reviews and support from everyone. I really appreciate it.  
  
CHAPTER 13:  
  
Stumbling over a root in her path, the girl only sighed. How long had she been here, anyway? It could have been hours or months and either way she wouldn't have been able to tell. She also couldn't figure out exactly where here happened to be. Although these two problems were enough to upset most people, those were the least of her worries. If only she could remember who she was...  
  
Despite the cheery sunlight pouring from the sky, she shivered. Perhaps it was the trees overhead that kept her chilled. The forest was vast and thick, at least giving her a sense of protection. She was tired now. Tired, hungry, and cold. All the worst things to be. Deciding there was nothing else she could do, the raven-haired girl sat down on a large boulder.  
  
Before she could think of any resolution to her current problems, an unearthly beautiful singing voice drifted along with the air. Transfixed with this voice, the girl began to follow it.  
  
She found her way to a babbling stream. Patches of sunlight shone through the leaves, illuminating the water until it almost glowed. A woman sat facing the water, her feet trailing in the brook. Her long golden hair played with the wind, blowing every which way and stretching unbelievably long.  
  
"I've been waiting for you." The beautiful woman said as she turned to face the girl. "Come here, my dear," she called, holding out her hand.  
  
"Do I know you?" the girl asked, dark blue eyes wide with confusion, as she came closer to the stranger.  
  
"My poor little one," the blonde woman murmured as she clasped the girl's hand and pulled her to the ground next to her. "You are so lost."  
  
"Can you help me?" the girl pleaded. "I don't know who I am or where I am and I just want to go home. I don't want to lost anymore."  
  
The woman said nothing. Instead, she calmly scooped a handful of water onto her face. Curious, the girl dipped her toes into the water.  
  
"Everything is so cold here! How can you be warm?" she exclaimed.  
  
"You are not meant to be here. I, however, am meant to be anywhere I choose." The woman answered with a smile.  
  
"Can't you please help me?" the girl asked again. "I'm so lost."  
  
The woman stood and smiled.  
  
"I will lead you out of the forest. It really isn't that far." She said and reached her elegant hand towards the girl.  
  
"Thank you." The girl whispered, taking the shining beings hand and feeling warmth for the first time since she awoke.

* * *

"So does it take a specific spell to activate or what?" Lina demanded as they entered the princess's room.  
  
"An incantation. I learned it many years ago." Xellos answered and quickly shoved the talisman in his pocket before the sorceress could snatch it away.  
  
"Girls, could the two of you stay with Amelia for a while? I need to talk to Zel and Xellos." Gourry asked. Lina was about to demand why when she saw the swordsman's eyes. Pain clouded what once had known only joy. Looking away, she nodded her consent. Filia nodded as well. Without saying another word, the men left the room.  
  
"What do you think that was about?" Filia asked as Lina took a seat on the princess's bed.  
  
"I have no idea." The sorceress muttered.  
  
"How are you?" the dragon asked, not knowing what else to say.  
  
"I have no idea how to answer that question." Lina replied honestly.  
  
"Thank you for what you did, Lina."  
  
"What are you-"  
  
"You saved me from him. He would've left you alone if-"  
  
"No," Lina interrupted. "He would have anyway. I saw it in his eyes. Cold, calculating. He already had it planned."  
  
"You know," Filia sighed. "Zelgadis said the same thing. That Thrayne wouldn't have unless he'd already planned it."  
  
"I just want to know why." Lina whispered, looking at the ground.  
  
"We'll find out soon."  
  
Lina sighed and took Amelia's hand.  
  
"Come on, Amelia. Please come back soon."

* * *

"They're not going with us." Gourry stated as they walked down the hall and towards the armory.  
  
"I never planned on letting them." Xellos replied.  
  
"It's going to be interesting watching you convince them of that." Zelgadis commented as they made their way into the arsenal.  
  
"One of you can cast a sleep spell, right?" the swordsman asked as he strapped throwing knives to his forearms.  
  
"Gourry, that's n-"Zel began.  
  
"Can you do it or not?" the blonde man demanded, glaring dangerously at the other man.  
  
"I can do it." The chimera replied solemnly and did not flinch at the unadulterated hate in the swordsmen's eyes. The trio then grabbed a few more necessities and returned to the princess's chamber.

* * *

"Are we reading to go?" Lina questioned as the men re-entered the room. Gourry looked to Zel for a split second before nodding in the affirmative. "What are you-"she began but was cut off when Gourry whispered, "I'm sorry."  
  
Before Lina or Filia could say anything more, Zelgadis released the sleep spell. Both girls slumped in their chairs, completely unconscious.

* * *

"Are we almost there?" the girl asked in excitement as the trees began to thin. The golden haired woman at her side merely smiled in answer. The lost girl knew not how long they walked after that as time seemed to have no place in this world. Finally they came to the very edge of the forest and all the girl could see beyond the trees was warm light.  
  
"Just a few more feet and you will be home." Said the woman as she gently ran her hand over the girl's raven hair.  
  
"Won't you come with me?" she begged.  
  
"That is not my place, little one."  
  
"This is what I wanted," she whispered in reply. "But I'm afraid."  
  
The golden being smiled kindly.  
  
"It's alright to be afraid. Every being is created with fear, regardless as to what they claim."  
  
"What do I do? I can't go any further by myself."  
  
"Fear is a test to be overcome. While here it tries to claim victory, you are needed there, where you belong."  
  
"I am needed." The girl repeated and took a deep breath. "Thank you for all of your help. I'll never forget you."  
  
The golden being kissed her gently on the forehead and whispered, "Of course you will."  
  
Before the girl could say anything more, she was alone.  
  
"Well," she said to herself. "It's time to go home."  
  
And with that she stepped out of the shield of trees and returned to where she belonged.

* * *

"Ready?" Xellos asked, looking to the other two men.  
  
"I'm ready." Zel replied, eyes lingering on his princess. Gourry merely nodded in answer, mindset on nothing save the task at hand. With a deep breath, the monster chanted the incantation. A bright white light flowed into each man, illuminating his skin in a celestial manner. After a few moments their bodies began to fade as the light got brighter. The chimera still had his gaze fixed upon Amelia. The last thing he saw before he left their world behind was the woman he loved open her eyes.

* * *

"Ms. Lina!" Amelia repeated, shaking the sorceress by the shoulders. The redhead's eyes flew open and her body tensed for an attack. Amelia did not let go despite the minor fear, which Lina never failed to provoke in most people. Instead of a fireball to the face, the princess was wrapped in a tight hug.  
  
"I can't believe they did this to us." Filia said, realizing exactly what had happened.  
  
"What.-"Lina began, releasing her younger friend and looking around the room. "I'm going to kill them."  
  
"Can someone please tell me what's going on?" Amelia asked uneasily, worry and fear growing stronger with every passing moment.  
  
"You should sit down and rest. I'll go to the kitchen's and-"Filia began, gently forcing the princess to sit.  
  
"Please." Amelia interrupted. The two older women exchanged a glance. Lina sighed.  
  
"Alright."

* * *

"Amelia!" the chimera shouted as he lunged foreword.  
  
"Zelgadis!" Gourry hissed, grabbing the other man by the arm.  
  
"I saw her open her eyes. She woke up, I need to-"  
  
"We need to kill Thrayne." Xellos snapped. The man of stone took a breath and composed himself. The trio studied their surroundings. They stood in the center of a large dungeon. The floor and walls were made of dark stone and the stench of blood permeated the air. Before closer inspection could be had, the wooden door flew open.  
  
"Hello, gentlemen," Thrayne greeted as he entered the chamber. "I've been waiting for you."

* * *

End of chapter 13!!! Please review!! Once again, I'm SO sorry for the wait! I'm already working on the next chapter, but I still don't have the internet. makes angry face Hopefully, we'll have it back soon... I'll try to get the next chapter out a lot sooner, I promise. 


	14. Chapter Fourteen: Burn

I'm alive… isn't that odd? I have no real excuse for why I haven't updated, but I would like everyone to know that I am very sorry that I haven't.

Chapter 14:

"I should have been here. I shouldn't have let him-"

"Amelia!" Lina snapped, cutting her off. "You had no control over any of this."

"Everyone keeps blaming themselves." Filia whispered, wrapping her arms around herself. "Thrayne is the reason for all of this."

"They won't come back until he's dead." Lina replied, eyes distant and troubled.

"Even with him gone, everything will still be wrong." The princess said quietly.

"No." the fire-haired sorceress said. "When that bastard is dead, everything will be fine."

"We didn't come here to talk." Zelgaddis growled.

"We came here to kill you." Gourry stated, drawing his sword.

"My, my." The golden dragon chimed. "So angry. Now why is that?"

"Shut up!" the blonde swordsman roared, lunging at his intended prey. The blade

bounced harmlessly off an invisible shield that surrounded their opponent.

"Did your sorceress tell you," Thrayne began, cocking his head to the side and

smiling. "how she screamed when I made her mine?"

"You will suffer before you die." Gourry snarled, readying himself for his next attack.

"If your pet monster couldn't take my life, I have no fear of you." Their foe responded. At that, Xellos threw a bolt of power directly at his opponent's heart. It, like the sword, had no effect. Cursing beneath his breath, Xellos turned toward his friends.

"We can't touch him until he drops that shield." The monster said angrily.

"Discouraged already?" the madman wondered cheerfully and tossed a dart of power at Gourry. Hearing the threat in the dragon's voice a bit too late, it struck his left shoulder and dark blood flowed from the wound. Thrayne began to laugh wildly.

"It's not deep. I can heal it." Zelgaddis said as he inspected the damage. The blonde man shook his head.

"Don't waste the energy."

Ignoring the order, Zel raised his hand. Just as he was about to push the spell to Gourry's flesh, he found his friend's eyes. For an instant, the chimera saw the desperation behind the rage and hate. "Don't." Gourry said again. This time Zelgaddis complied.

"Come and attack me!" Thrayne exclaimed merrily.

"Why don't you fight without your dark lord?" the chimera demanded.

"Now why would I want to do that?" Thrayne asked.

"Because you no longer have a choice." Came the reply. The four men looked to their left, none of them expecting the woman that stood there. Her dark cobalt hair flowed past her waist, and her long black dress trailed behind her. "From this moment on, you are no longer under my protection." She said, waving a graceful hand in his direction. The shield around him dropped.

"Mistress!" he cried, the confidence drained from his voice. He ran toward her, trying to reach out, when Zelgaddis's elmekia lance hit him in the shoulder. He howled with pain and whirled to face his enemy.

"Good luck, pet." The dark lord chimed and disappeared. Thrayne took no notice of her departure.

"Now that you're alone, this shouldn't take long." The chimera sneered. The golden dragon drew his own sword.

"I killed your princess easily enough without Mistress's help, so I'm sure you'll be no problem." He growled and lunged. Zel blocked easily, years of swordplay to his advantage. Quickly, Zel spun the side and struck Thrayne across the face.

"Dead men shouldn't be so arrogant." The chimera snarled.

"Don't speak as though you've already won!" the lunatic raved, letting his guard down. Zelgaddis struck, but Thrayne pulled his own meager shields up just in time. The blade veered to the right.

"Will those pathetic shields of yours hold up against magic?" Xellos questioned, hurdling a black ball of energy towards Thrayne. It hit in the middle of his chest, burning through the cloth of his shirt and into his flesh. He stumbled and cursed viscously.

"I will kill all of you!" he screamed desperately, rushing them. It was Gourry who blocked this attack. As he raised his sword to block his enemy's, the blonde man hooked his foot around Thrayne's ankle and jerked sideways. The golden dragon toppled over. Just as came crashing down, Gourry's ankle connected with his rib cage. The crunch of bone resounded throughout the chamber. The madman screamed and thrashed his legs.

"Stand up." Gourry demanded. Growling like a cage wolf, the other man crawled to his feet, holding his side.

"Your sorceress is beautiful," he hissed. "Pity I had her first, isn't it?"

Before the swordsman could respond, Xellos's staff exploded threw Thrayne's lower abdomen.

"You let your guard down." The monster chided. Ignoring the pain, the dragon whirled and stabbed blindly in the General-Priest's direction. Xellos avoided the attack with ease. Thrayne continued to stumble threw attacks until Zelgaddis came up from behind and struck him with the flat of his blade.

"Fight me like real men!" Thrayne shouted, willing his vision to clear.

"Real men," Xellos began, using his power to blow the dragon into a wall. "don't destroy what they cannot have."

Zelgaddis rushed foreword and pushed his blade threw the dragon's chest, pinning him to the wall.

"Real men do not kill helpless women." He growled, twisting his sword before jumping away.

"And real men," Gourry snarled, shoving his sword threw the he-dragon's heart. "do not take women against their will."

Thrayne tried his best to scream, but by then it was too late. Blood gushed from his various wounds and his life drained away. The three watched until their enemy was dead. Xellos summoned a spear of black power and cleaved the head from the body.

"Just to be safe." He shrugged and snapped his fingers. The corpse burst into blue flames. Gourry sank to the floor and watched Thrayne burn.

"It's been hours." Amelia murmured, standing at her balcony door.

"I'm worried too." Filia said softly, running a hand through her hair.

"I'm going to take a bath." Lina said abruptly. Her companions studied her for a moment and then Amelia nodded. Saying nothing, the sorceress left the room. At first, their company had been soothing, but as the hours wore on, she couldn't stand to see the worry and heartache in their eyes. Walking down the hall, Lina pretended she hadn't seen the pity, pretended even harder that that pity had not been meant for her. Forcing her mind clear, she found the bath and undressed. With a sigh, she climbed into the water.

"Do you really think things will be alright?" Amelia asked.

"Once Zelgaddis returns and knows you're safe, the pain of almost losing you will ebb away. He will never forget, but he will move on. Xellos will come back and Beast Master will return my son. We'll go home to our tiny village and be happy." She paused and let out a small sigh. "But Lina and Gourry will be forever scared. I do not know if they can over come it."

"Lina Inverse never looses. This won't be any different." The princess said stubbornly, trying with all her heart to believe it.

Instead of replying, the ex-priestess looked out the window.

"We should go back now." Zelgaddis said, gently pulling Gourry to his feet. "They'll be waiting for us." He added, taking his friend's arm to steady him.

"Gourry…" Xellos began, searching the man's cold, blue eyes. He saw no warmth in his friends gaze, no hint of the man he used to be.

Rage and hate and killing changed great men to hard, cold shells… the General-priest had seen it, had caused it. Why should seeing one more make his heart ache? Glancing at the chimera, Xellos knew he'd seen it too.

"Do you think he suffered?" Gourry asked, breaking the silence.

"Yes." The monster replied. The swordsman glanced at the ashes one last time and then looked away.

"Not enough."

Zelgaddis tightened his grip on his friend's arm.

"Let's go home."

Silently, Gourry nodded.

A shimmering light filled the room and quickly dissipated. The three men stood in the center of the room, using all remaining strength to stay standing.

"It's done." Xellos said quietly, needing to say the words. Saying nothing, Filia led him to a couch and then wrapped her arms around him. Zelgaddis already had Amelia in a tight embrace.

"Gourry," the ex-priestess called. "Let me tend your wound."

"No, thank you." He said quietly and left the room. A few moments passed before Amelia looked at the golden dragon.

"I wish you hadn't been right."

Not being able to face her friends, Lina had returned to her room. With single-minded determination, she towel-dried her hair and dressed. After that, she settled down by the window and waited. And waited. An hour passed and could no longer hold her emotions at bay. Fear and heart ache flooded her senses and tears coursed down her face. Just as she was about to climb under her cover, her door quietly opened and shut. Startled, she looked up and gasped. Gourry stood in front of the door, studying her. Blood covered his left arm, the wound in his should still oozing.

"You're hurt…" she said dumbly. He shrugged with his good shoulder. "Let me heal it." She said, going to him. She had him sit on a low sofa and quickly healed his wound.

"I was worried about you." She told him softly, wiping the grime from his face with one of her bath towels.

"Why?" he demanded, speaking for the first time since entering the room. "I told you I'd kill him."

The harshness in his voice startled the sorceress and she took a step back.

"Amelia was right." She whispered.

"About what?" he snapped, snatching the towel and wiping down his arms.

"We're never going to be the same again. We're never going to get over this."

"What more do you want from me?" he asked quietly. Slowly, she took his face in her hands. Pain filled her ruby eyes.

"You've done more then enough. The rest is not for you to do." She told him gently.

"You aren't-" he began, recognizing the dangerous determination in her eyes. She cut off the rest of his words by pressing her lips to his. "Stop." He murmured as she pressed closer and wrapped her arms around his neck. Almost involuntarily, Gourry's arms encircled her tiny waist. She slid her hands into his hair, tugging him ever closer. Abruptly, he pulled away.

"You aren't going to do anything, Lina. Let this alone."

"I can't." she said softly, knowing he'd never understand.

"You can." He insisted, tightening his hold on her.

"I'll loose you!" she cried, finally meeting his gaze. His eyes still held no warmth, only cold calculation.

"I'm going to keep you safe." He snapped, barely noticing her tears.

"I love you, Gourry." She whispered and kissed him once more.

"The only way you're getting out of this room is if you use magic on me." He warned.

"I know." She said softly, resting her forehead against his.

"I could never forgive you if you did that."

"I know." She said again, noting but pain in her voice.

"Lina-"

"I love you." She repeated and let the spell flow into him.

Although he was strong, her magic was stronger. As unconsciousness finally overcame, his arms fell away from her body. Quietly, she made her way to the hidden library.

Scanning the shelves as quickly as she could, she found the book she sought. Finding the spell took only a moment, but after a only a few lines, she knew it wouldn't work. This spell could only take one memory from one person, and even amplified, it wouldn't work the way she wanted it too.

Forcing panic from her mind, she grabbed another text and flipped through the pages. Finding nothing, she threw it across the room. Knowing she was running out of time, the sorceress fell to her knees. Tears of frustration fill her eyes. Suddenly, an idea formed in her mind. Frustration turned to a mix of sorrow and determination. As the tears spilled down her cheeks, she prayed.

Gathering her strength, Lina Inverse began to cast the giga slave for the last time.

END OF CHAPTER 14!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

There will be only one more chapter of this story! Isn't that exciting?! I'm already done with it too. I just have to type it. Without a computer at home, it might take a couple weeks. No longer then that, though. Thanks to all of you who are still with me and putting up with my laziness. Oh! And thanks to those of you who answered my question about songfics!

-Ahria


	15. Chapter Fifteen: Saving Us

Chapter Fifteen:

"What is that fool doing?" Zelas screeched, watching swirls of black power wrap around the golden throne.

"Something incredibly dangerous and stupid." The Lord of Nightmares answered angrily. With a flick of her wrist, Lina sat dazed, on the floor before the throne.

"What, exactly, are you doing?" Zelas demanded, not appeased by L-sama's answer.

"It was the only I knew of to get her attention." Lina shrugged. Zelas muttered something profane and sat back, content to watch the rest of the encounter.

"Fix this." Lina begged without hesitation, turning to the Lord of Nightmares. "Please."

"What would you have me do?" L-sama questioned.

"Erase Gourry's memories of the last four years."

"Do you have any idea how much effort that would require?"

"Yes and I'll do anything you want. You want this body?" she questioned, pointing to herself. "Take it, it's yours."

"Why are doing this?" The Mother of All Things asked, watching the young sorceress's face.

"Gourry had never hated before Thrayne. It… destroyed him." Lina whispered.

"What do you mean?" L-sama demanded, forcing the girl to say the words.

"It's not in Gourry's nature to hate anyone. He couldn't hate someone and then be the same person he was before. All that remains of the man I knew is the shell, which remains to fight and kill. That's all he is now." The sorceress said, tears streaming down her face.

"And you would give up everything you are to undo that?" L-sama mused. "Why?"

"Because it's my fault! It only happened because he loved me. I destroyed him." She exclaimed.

"You cannot run to me every time you have a problem." The Lord of All Things commented.

"This will be the last time." Lina Inverse swore as she got to her feet.

"Why erase four years and not just the time with Thrayne?" L-sama wondered.

"I can't put him in danger if he doesn't know me." Lina stated, forcing the tears away.

"I can't do it." The creator of the world said softly.

"Please?" she begged. "I'll do anything, please, save him…"

The Mother of All Things was silent for a long moment, considering all possibilities.

"If Xellos had killed Thrayne before Chaotic Blue started helping him, none of this would have happened." Zelas said slowly, and L-sama nodded her approval.

"Is it possible?" the sorceress demanded, understanding immediately.

"Anything is possible for me." L-sama declared, amusement in her tone.

"If we go back to that moment and finish the kill, it'll fix everything." The Beast Maser continued.

"Won't Chaotic Blue find another way? She wants me dead." Lina sighed.

"Don't worry yourself over that, child." Was all the Lord of Nightmares said.

"So you'll send me back to the moment before Thrayne escapes into the underworld. And then what will I do? I don't have a dark lord's strength." The sorceress said, battle plan forming in her mind.

Saying nothing, the Lord of All Things held out her hand. Hesitating, the red-haired girl took it. A warm light spread through her body and for just one moment, she forgot everything else.

"You need only touch him. The spell I just wove in you will take care of the rest."

"Thank you." Lina whispered.

"This is not a gift." L-sama said softly.

"I know."

"After this encounter with Thrayne, I forbid you to use any spell that involves my power." The Lord of All Things declared.

"The ragna blade, the giga slave… " Lina murmured.

"Exactly."

"So you're taking that part of my power?" the sorceress asked.

"No." L-sama shook her head. "The ability to use those spells will remain, forever a temptation. I will leave you this memory so you know what you gave up and why."

"Alright," Lina said quietly. "I swear that when this is done, I will never call upon your power again."

The Lord of Nightmares nodded and a golden light enveloped Lina.

"Thank you." Lina called, barely able to see through the light.

"Just remember your oath." Came the soft reply. The light became brighter ands the form of L-sama faded completely.

"Always." Lina whispered as the world began to spin.

"Follow her." L-sama said.

"I suppose you want me to visit Chaotic Blue again."

"Precisely."

"And I'm to give her the same message as before?"

"Of course. You can even make it more threatening, if you like." L-sama replied.

Zelas was laughing as she disappeared.

* * *

"Cheap insults won't save your life." Xellos snapped, ignoring the sting of the words.

"My life isn't in need of saving." Replied Thrayne with a petulant smile.

"Do you honestly think I'd let you live after what you've done"

"You truly are a fool" laughed the mad man, beginning the spell in the back of his mind. Hatred numbed the general-priest's senses and the pooling of power went unnoticed.

"Just shut up, Thrayne." The sorceress growled as golden light filled the room.

"Lina?" Xellos exclaimed as she appeared next to him.

"Trust me." She said.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded, too confused to heed her advise.

"Saving us." She whispered, the pain in her eyes unmistakable.

"You shouldn't be here!" Thrayne shouted, throwing a fireball in her direction. It dissipated before it reached her. Cautiously, she went toward him.

"Lina, don-" the general-priest started.

"Trust me." She said again.

"Leave, girl." The madman growled. "We have much bigger plans for you."

Lina stood only a few feet from him now.

"Those plans won't work." She told him smugly.

"You can't possibly-"

"Oh, please, you really think those little dreams are going to hurt anyone?" she sneered. Thrayne leapt forward and grabbed her throat.

"How do you know?" he demanded, strangling her. Xellos could wait no longer. Gathering his power in his hand, he lunged toward the he-dragon. Thrayne threw the tiny sorceress into the nearest wall, but made no move to block the monster's attack, not realizing his shields were gone. The black lance of magic tore through the madman's body. With a snap of Xellos's fingers, Thrayne's body burst into flames, giving him no time to scream as he died.

Wasting no time, the General-Priest searched the tiny room for Lina. She laid crumpled in a heap, barely conscious. A puddle of blood pooled around her head. Xellos swore, not realizing she'd struck the wall so hard.

"I'll get you to Sairune. Amelia will-" he babbled, gathering the girl in his arms.

"You can't." she whispered. "I'm already there."

"Seems you hit your head a bit too hard, huh?"

A soft smile lit her face as her body began to fade.

"It's over now." She said softly, closing her eyes.

"What-"

"He was a plague that almost destroyed us. I had to fix it." She murmured, body begging to fade.

"You were from the future." He whispered dumbly.

"Yes… Don't worry… Everything's fine now." She said, her form almost gone.

"Thank you, Lina." He said softly as he got to his feet and the last of her faded to nothingness. Forcing his mind to other things, he surveyed the room. There were burn marks on the walls and floors and a few broken antiques, but damage wasn't that bad. The blood splattered flowers rested exactly were they had been left.

Knowing he had to return to Filia soon, he took one more moment to inspect the flowers. In the center rest a single unmarred rose. Gently, he pulled it from the case and studied it. Not one drop of blood tainted the blossom's purity. With a soft smile, Xellos returned to the woman he loved, flower in hand.

"So you killed him?" Lina asked, munching on her breakfast.

"Yes." Xellos answered, avoiding her eyes. "I killed him."

She nodded uneasily and finished her food.

A few moments later, Xellos excused himself to check on Filia. Lina followed him into the hall.

"What really happened, Xellos?" she demanded.

"Lina… please leave this alone." He begged, eyes open and unguarded. Just as she was about to press for more information, a memory hit her. Her eyes filled with tears and she nodded, a silent promise echoing in her mind.

"Lina?" Gourry voice startled the two. "What's the matter?"

One tear trickled down her cheek as she whispered, "Thank you."

Xellos smiled and left the couple alone.

Lina said nothing as she threw her arms around Gourry's neck and clung on tight, not caring who saw. The swordsman knew not to question her anymore, but held instead.

"Hey, Lina?" he said softly.

"Hmm?" she asked, pulling back enough to look at him.

"I love you." He said and kissed her gently.

"And I love you." She murmured.

* * *

"You did well, Zelas." L-sama said as the dark lord returned.

"Thank you, Mother. I doubt Chaotic Blue will bother them ever again."

"They should be safe now." L-sama said with a satisfied smile.

"So what happens now?" Zelas asked as she sat next to the Mother of All Things.

"They finally get to be happy." Came the reply.

The End.

Thank you all so much for staying with me all this time. I couldn't have finished this journey without all of your support. Your reviews meant the world to me.

Thank you.

-Ahria

P.S.- Please go to my bio for a special author's note about an upcoming story. I really need some imput on it. Thanks!


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